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Posted on Friday, February 04, 2011
Sea Rays
The weather was cold and the roads were clear, just what we needed to
pull the Sea Ray out of the pole barn. Brent aired the tires up to 40
pounds while I hooked up the lights and safety chains. We threw the road
cover on the boat and tied it down. We put the floor jack in the pickup
bed along with the spare tire. Stacey was in the back seat of the truck,
so we were ready to take the Sea Ray on it's last trip with us as the
owners.
We
turned north on 61 and drove to Elizabethtown, then took I-65 to
Louisville. We pulled into the parking lot at Sea Ray of Louisville and
went inside. Brent had talked to the manager a couple of weeks ago and
they had made a deal, so Brent told him we had our boat outside the
shop. He came out, took a quick look and told us to unhook the boat
right there and we could leave for about an hour. That worked into our
plan, we drove about a mile and ate lunch at Kingfish Restaurant. After
lunch, we drove back to the dealership and Brent finished the trade of
the old Sea Ray for a new Sea Ray. It took a while to get the paper work
done, but finally it was finished and they moved the boat outside. We
hooked it to the pickup truck and were ready to head back to the farm.
The traffic was heavy in Louisville as it was around 4:30 on a Friday
afternoon and a lot of people were starting their weekend.
The
trailer has electric surge brakes that gave us a scare when we first
pulled away from the dealership. There is a slipping back and forth of
the brake control unit as the truck stops or takes off and the trailer
felt like it wasn't locked down on the hitch ball. Once we figured out
what was happening, it wasn't a problem. We drove south and stopped at
the first rest stop to take a restroom break and check out the boat to
see if anything was loose. All was well, so we grabbed a cold drink at
the vending machine and continued south on Interstate 65. At
Elizabethtown we left the interstate and took 61 South. The new boat was
great to pull with the tandem axle trailer spreading out the weight and
causing it to track straight. 
Brent
talked to Pauline on the phone while we were on the road back, he also
talked to Linda and let her know when we were almost to the farm. Linda
went down and opened the pole barn doors and I backed the new Sea Ray
into the barn. We unhooked it, talked about the trip a few minutes, then
went to the house. Brent headed back to his house about 20 minutes later.
Posted on Sunday, February 06, 2011
Kyle's Birthday Party
Pauline and Brent celebrated Kyle's birthday with a family party.
Dorothy and Larry were already there when we arrived about noon. Pauline
had sandwiches and cookies for everyone to eat before the party started.
We played with Julie and Kyle for a little while, then Kyle was taken to
the table and sat in his high chair. Pauline lit the one candle on the
"Choo Choo Train" birthday cake and we all sang "Happy Birthday" to
Kyle. Julie and Pauline helped Kyle blow out the candle while Brent
worked the video camera, then Pauline cut Kyle the first piece of cake
and handed it to him. Pretty soon, he was a mess and had cake all over
him, even behind his ears.
Pauline
and Linda took time to wash his face and hands, then changed his shirt
before we moved to the living room to watch Kyle open the presents.
Pauline helped Kyle open his presents and kept him interested and on
task.
Kyle
is walking really well now. He still has his hands up in the air to
maintain his balance, but doesn't drop back down and crawl very much as
he has figured out he can go faster walking. There are six or seven
teeth spread out in his mouth and it seems he's doing good at the one
year mark. Kyle's birthday was February 2nd.
Posted on Friday, February 11, 2011
More Snow and Cold
Wednesday afternoon, Linda came home early because of a winter storm
warning and school had been let out at 12:30. About 2 PM it actually
began snowing and before dark the roads were slick and snow covered.
There was no school on Thursday or Friday, so Linda did not work. The
temperatures were the lowest of the season during Thursday night, seven
degrees in our area. During the daylight hours today, the temps climbed
into the lower 40s and the snow began to melt. After we went to Columbia
for lunch, Stacey and I went for a Mule ride with Daisy running along.
While
we were riding around I noticed that the snow had melted in most of the
areas where the sun was shinning on the ground, but not where there were
shadows.
Daisy's
water in her stall had froze solid overnight, but the creek just had a
little bit of ice forming in a few places. We gave Daisy a fresh bucket
of water and filled her bowl with dog food before we went inside.
Forecasts are for 60 degree temperatures by Wednesday. Everyone here is
ready for some of that! 8-)
Posted on Saturday, February 12, 2011
Sweet Heart Dinner
A few weeks ago, Jason had asked Stacey to attend a Sweet Heart Dinner
with him. Stacey and Linda had picked out new clothes for the event and
ordered a flower for Jason. We picked up the flower Friday before the
florist closed and today, Stacey was ready when Jason arrived a little
after 5 PM.
Stephannie
and Tommy were escorting Jason and Stacey to the dinner and they came
inside to talk a few minutes.
Stacey
took the camera and made a few pictures before the dinner and while they
were watching the band "Generations" play music for the entertainment.
When
the event was over, Stacey returned to the farm with Jason and they both
said they had enjoyed the dinner and music.
Posted on Monday, February 14, 2011
Valentines Day
Linda drove the pickup truck to school so that Stacey and I could use
the HHR to drive to Bowling Green. We left a little after 10 AM and
drove to Mancino's for lunch, then over to Aldi's for some canned goods.
After that we stopped at Sam's Club and stocked up on the other items we
needed to supply our pantry. It took us a while to find everything,
checkout and then drive back the Cumberland Parkway to the farm. It was
nearly 3 PM when we pulled into the garage and began putting the
supplies away. Around 3:30 the door bell rang, I answered and it was a
flower delivery for Stacey. I called her to the door and she took the
flowers. I snapped a picture and she read the card.
Stacey
told me the flowers and card were from Jason. She went into the bedroom
and called Jason to thank him for the flowers. They talked a short time
and when she came out of the bedroom, she said he would call later at
their regular time. Linda came home after working and walking with Nancy
and while we were eating supper, Jason called.
Posted on Wednesday, February 16, 2011
National Farm Machinery Show
Several weeks ago First
& Farmer's National Bank had contacted me about going on a bus
trip to the National
Farm Machinery Show in Louisville. I asked Stacey if she wanted to
go. We decided to go and then I contacted Ben at the bank and told him
that Stacey and I would go with them. He told us to meet them at the
bank at 6:15 AM on the day of the trip and they would have something for
everyone to eat. Stacey was up early and ready to go. We took the truck
and parked in the bank lot and went in the bank. Ben offered bacon,
sausage, and ham biscuits and coffee to drink when we came inside.
Several others arrived and were offered food and small items to take
home, such as change purses and hats. When it was time to leave we lined
up beside the bus for a quick picture, then loaded on the bus and rode
to Columbia to pick up more of the bank's customers. We then rode about
an hour an a half to Louisville and unloaded at the Kentucky
Exposition Center.
We
walked inside the building and there were thousands of pieces of
equipment displayed. We began walking through the aisles of things being
exhibited and talking about what they were and how they worked. I saw
one diplay that I would like to try. The two pieces of equipment are
used to group bales of hay into ten bales, the other piece fits on the
front loaded of the tractor and is used to pick up all ten bales at once
and load or unload onto a wagon or truck. The piece that lifts the bales
would take most of the manual labor out of baling hay. Stacey wanted her
picture made in front of the "Bad Boyz" lawn mower display that we see
advertised on TV. Later in the day, I asked Stacey to stand in front of
the display that looked like a statue of a man made of concrete. She
went and stood by it and the statue moved and waved a catalog to cause
Stacey's hair to move. She turned to look and found out it was a real
man dressed as a statue.
We
split our walking tour into three different times and places by taking
time to relax by setting in the food vendor area and talking to people
from other places. One person we talked to was from Argentina, another
group was from Iowa, another from Ohio and a couple from Indiana. The
person from Argentina was there to translate English for his company's
representatives. It seems each year I attend the show, it gets bigger
and more people come. We were there the first day of the show and it was
packed with people. At 3:30 PM, we gathered in the food court and loaded
on the bus for the ride back home. We dropped off the Columbia customers
and then returned to the bank in Burkesville at 6:10 PM. Stacey and I
thanked the bus driver for a good ride and then told Ben thanks as we
stepped off the bus. First & Farmer's National Bank and their
representatives were excellent hosts. They provided the free bus ride,
food, snacks, water to drink and organized the trip. Thanks to Ben and First
& Farmer's National Bank of Burkesville for asking us to attend
the show!
Posted on Sunday, February 20, 2011
Visitors
Friday night, Brent came over with Pauline and the kids. We went to the
Mexican Restaurant for supper and then back to the farm. On Saturday and
we played with the kids until around 11 AM. Julie and Kyle really like
playing with some of the toys we have that were Stacey's and Brent's.
We
went to the pole barn and worked on getting the new boat ready for the
lake. We tossed the life jackets, floating cushions and a few other
items needed to go boating into the boat and Brent stored them in the
compartments in the new boat. I also passed him two anchors and he put
them in the anchor storage area in the bow of the boat. We took a Mule
ride and let Daisy run while we drove around. Later in the day, everyone
was back inside while the kids were napping, I took a chain saw and cut
a bunch of small limbs off the edge of the brush pile I had bull dozed a
few months ago. I went back to the house to get the tractor and noticed
someone was pulling in the driveway with a horse trailer behind their
truck. I followed them up the driveway and when they exited the truck, I
found out it was Linda's older brother, Abner, and Gay. They had his
grand daughter with them and said they were delivering a horse to a
place about 20 miles from our farm and decided to stop. I welcomed them
and asked them to come inside. We sat and talked a while, then Linda and
I showed them our farm and pole barns. After a short ride around the
place, we went back inside and talked a while longer. They said they
were returning home that night and needed to get going, so they backed
the trailer down part of the driveway and pulled out. They had stayed
about 2 hours. Brent and I took the tractor and Mule back to the brush
pile. Brent cut a few more limbs while I used the tractor to push the
brush we had cut into the bigger pile. We worked about 30 minutes and
then put the tractor and saw away and went inside.
Sunday morning,
Linda and Pauline baked some 'sticky buns' for breakfast. We watched TV
and played with the kids while a light rain fell outside. Around noon,
the sun had cleared away the clouds and Pauline stepped outside to see
how warm it felt. She made the call it was nice outside and that we
should go outside instead of setting inside. We did. We took the three
small dogs, both kids and rode in the Mule down to the picnic area by
the creek. Julie immediately went to throwing rocks in the creek. Kyle
was busy 'driving' the Mule. He would climb inside, then get a hold of
the steering wheel for a little bit, then fall out on the ground when he
tried to climb out. He did it twice, but the ground was soft and he
never was hurt. We moved to the pole barn and worked on the boat and
cover a little more. Julie was playing in the gravel pile and eating pop
sickles when we decided to go back to the house and have lunch. Stacey,
Brent and I finished watching the recording of the Daytona 500, then
Pauline and Brent left with their kids and dogs.
Posted on Saturday, February 26, 2011
Trip To IN
A little over a week ago, I received a call from IN. The person said my
mother was in the hospital and she was unable to take care of herself
and was being placed in a nursing home for her safety. I made several
calls back and forth to IN with people that knew Mom and with Adult
Protective Services. Eventually I found out that Mom was being placed in
a nursing home in Muncie. I talked with several people in Burkesville
about the situation and what I could do. After receiving advice from a
lawyer, nursing home administrator, nurse and several friends, Linda,
Stacey and I left on a trip to see Mom Friday morning. We met with Lou
Lacy, my cousin in Anderson IN and talked with him a short time, we
picked up Mom's house keys and some personal items from him, then we
went to the nursing home and talked with Mom. Virginia was in pretty
good spirits and eating when we walked into the facility. She said she
could remember stuff a long time ago, but wasn't able to remember what
happened last week or a couple days ago.
We
stayed over 2 hours, then went to Daleville and took a look at her
house. It needed some work, so we began. After a few hours, Kim Bourke
stopped. Kim had been picking up Mom's mail for us while Mom was in the
hospital. She invited us to stay at her and Kenny's house, so we worked
a while longer, then closed up the house and followed her home. We spent
the rest of the evening talking with Kim and Kenny.
Saturday morning,
Kenny fixed breakfast for all of us. After eating and thanking Kim and
Kenny, we stopped at the Post Office in Daleville and had Mom's mail
forwarded to our house. We then returned to the nursing home for another
visit with Mom. We stopped at Cap'n'Ds and bought her a fish dinner. She
had mentioned she was hungry for fish the day before. Mom ate the meal
and then we talked for a while about what had been happening to her. We
eventually left and went back to her house to straighten up some more
things. It had been a long time since my last visit to IN and I wanted
to stop at Linda's Mom's house before returning to KY, so we closed up
my Mom's house and went to Nana's in Pendleton. Linda K and Imon stopped
in and visited with us while we were there seeing Nana. Around 5:30 we
said good bye and loaded into the HHR for the drive home. We stopped in
Jeffersonville and picked up some take out at King Fish and then drove
on back to the farm.
