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Posted on Sunday, March 02, 2008
Extra Nice Weekend
Linda and Stacey came home late Friday night after two days at PB&Js
doing who know's what. Saturday started out a little cloudy, but quickly
cleared up and warmed up nicely. I put together a new set of tool boxes
that I had picked up in Glasgow at Sears. Then Linda wanted to clean up
a pile of wood that I had stacked down where the old house used to be. I
left it there to burn in the fire pit but over the winter, several of
the pieces had rotted. We started a fire with the cardboard boxes the
tool boxes were packed in and used twigs and leaves that Linda and
Stacey raked up to start the larger pieces of wood burning. There were a
few pieces of fence that was around Regina's ostriches that needed burnt
too. After most of those were burnt, I started the tractor a scraped the
rotten wood up in a pile, then scooped it up and dumped it in the creek.
It floated away. I used the scoop to dig up a stump from where an apple
tree had broke off nearly a year ago. Lastly, I picked up a large log
with the back hoe and Linda helped by dumping it in the creek. We took
Daisy to the barn and Stacey went inside as Nancy and Steve Riddle
stopped. Linda brought us out a can of pop each and we went back down to
the fire pit and set around talking about what they had done out at
their farm and what we had been doing. We were wishing we had
marshmallows and hot dogs to roast on the fire, but we were out of luck
on those. Nancy and Steve left around 8 PM and we went inside.
Sunday,
Linda woke up with a sore throat and her sinus were draining and giving
her a headache, so Stacey and I took Daisy for a run in the morning. The
temperature was warm enough that I was working outside with just a
t-shirt. I did a little bush hogging back in the holler while the weeds
are dead and I can see what I'm cutting. I also helped Steve make a list
of what he needs to build a shed on the side of an old building out at
his place. Stacey and I watched the NASCAR race afterwards.
Posted on Monday, March 03, 2008
Fuel Delivered
I guess I had been hearing for a while that as the oil refineries started switching over to summer blends the price of fuel would go up even higher, so this morning I called and asked them to fill up my gas tank and diesel fuel tank. They agreed, but didn't know how soon it would be done. That's fine, I told them and hung up the phone. Stacey, Linda and I went to lunch in Columbia in the Mustang and as we were driving into the driveway at home, I noticed the fuel truck was done delivering our fuel. I backed down the driveway and told him to hang on, I would get the check book and pay the bill. I parked the Mustang and grabbed the check book and went down to pay. The driver handed me a bill and it was four hundred and some odd dollars and I thought, that's not that bad. I started to write the check, but the driver said, "That's not the total." and handed me another bill. OH MY GOSH, did I pay! The total was $1,007.47 for filling both tanks and neither tank was all the way empty. One hundred and fifty gallons of gas @ $3.09 per gallon and one hundred and seventy nine gallons of diesel fuel @ $3.04 a gallon. The driver said, he didn't know what people were going to do with prices like they were, he was apologizing. I laughed and said that I would try to make this last longer this time. He laughed and said he guessed everyone would. We talked a little while about the gas prices and he seemed more upset than me. I guess he's been hearing it from everyone he delivered to about the price.
Posted on Thursday, March 06, 2008
Stacey's Checkup
Linda left to baby sit for Julie around 6 AM. Stacey and I left for Bowling Green around 7:30 AM for her appointment with Dr Zhu. I drove directly to the Graves-Gilbert Clinic and parked in their lot. We went inside and the place was packed with people. We had to wait to use the elevator and also in line to register our visit. Once we were signed in, we went to Dr Zhu's office and were almost immediately called into the examination room. Dr Zhu came in and looked Stacey over and read her chart, then read the paper I had written with the problems Stacey had experienced since our last visit to his office. We talked about a few things to do when Stacey had her next problem and then he sent us to the lab downstairs for Stacey to have blood drawn. We made another appointment for a 6 months checkup, then took the elevator down and went to the lab. The lab was packed, no seats in the normal places, we had to move down to the x-ray section and listen carefully for Stacey to be called. After about a half hour, she was called, they drew her blood and we were ready to leave. We drove to PB&J's house to visit with Linda and Julie. Julie was just waking up as we arrived and we watched and played with her until it was time for her to eat. After we left there we drove to Edmonson and checked out where Brent works. Stacey and I walked in and Brent was in a conversation with Mr Waddell and Lamar. He introduced us and then we listened as they finished their conversation. Brent showed us around the server room and some stuff he was doing with Lamar. After a short discussion of which PC screen was larger, Stacey and I left for home. We stopped at Wendy's for some sandwiches to eat on the ride back to the farm. When we arrived at the farm, there was a message to call Dr Zhu's office. I did and they wanted to know the amount of medicine Stacey was taking. They said they would call back shortly after speaking to the doctor. A little bit later, they called and wanted us to reduce the medicine slightly. After picking up the mail and resting for a little while, Stacey and I drove up on the ridge to see what Steve was up to. We met Nancy about half way and she said he was working on the tractor. I pulled the truck in his barn lot and Stacey listened to the radio in the truck while I went inside. I helped Steve and Steve take the starter off his tractor so he could possibly have it rebuilt. It took about a half hour and then Stacey and I went back home.
Posted on Friday, March 07, 2008
Tracy Lawrence Concert
Friday, with Linda in Smith's Grove, Stacey and I went to eat breakfast
with Jason. Stacey and I walked in and surprised Jason because Stacey
had forgot to mention it during their telephone call the night before.
We had breakfast and made plans for picking Jason up later in the day so
he could go with us to the Tracy Lawrence concert. After we finished
breakfast and returned to the farm, Linda came home. She said Emondson
County Schools had closed and Brent was staying home to take care of
Julie so she came on home early. We showered and left for the concert a
little before 3:30 PM, picked up Jason and headed towards Glasgow. We
had scheduled extra time due to the weather forecast of possibly a
winter storm and to also eat before the concert at 7 PM. It was raining
for the ride to Glasgow and when we stopped at Mancino's to eat, we were
almost the only people in the restaurant. Stacey and Jason split a
pepperoni pizza and Linda and I split a steak grinder. A grinder is a
long sandwich that has been baked in the pizza oven and Mancino's is one
of our favorite places to eat. We dinked around a little while, then
drove to the Courthouse Square in Glasgow and parked. We walked about a
half block to the Plaza
Theatre.
We
waited about 2 minutes for the doors to open, then we were let in the
lobby and waited a few minutes longer while the band was eating they
said. Soon, we were let into the seating area and shown to our seats.
Jason remarked that the seats were good seats and then Stacey, Jason and
I went back to the lobby and purchased a couple of shirts for them. A
few minutes after 7 PM, the house lights went down and a few
announcements were made, then they announced Tracy Lawrence and he came
out and began his concert.
The
music was loud and the crowd was loud too. The audience responded well
to Tracy after each song. Tracy said they were filming for a live DVD to
be released later. He played song after song without stopping to talk.
He did stop a few times to say a few things, but his concert was music
and more music. He sang almost all of his hits, which were more than I
had thought he had. I'd forgot about some of them. He had the place
roaring with applause and finally said good night.
Everyone
stood and yelled loudly until he came back for a encore. I took Stacey
and Jason down to the stage for the encore and let them be up real close
for the final 3 songs. Then the concert was over as we left the building
and it was snowing. Tracy had sang for over 2 hours almost non-stop. The
truck windows were ice covered and the streets were really slick. I used
the 4 wheel drive all the way home as we listened to the Cumberland
County Girls team lose their game at Diddle Arena in Bowling Green. It
took about a hour before we dropped Jason off at his Grandmother's
house. She met him at the door and we went on home.
Posted on Saturday, March 08, 2008
Snow From A Winter Storm
Overnight we had a winter storm blow through our area and leave a light
blanket of snow. We awoke to find it still snowing and blowing.
Linda
fixed us breakfast and after Stacey and I took our pills Linda and I
dressed for going outdoors. I went on out and started the Mule and
pulled around to load Daisy in the back. Linda came out as Daisy jumped
in the bed of the Mule. I chained her in and Linda and I drove down the
hill towards the hay shed, then across the road and through the creek. I
stopped and let Daisy out of the Mule. She jumped from the Mule and
started running around with her nose plowing the snow like she was
sniffing a trail of an animal through the snow.
We
continued around the field and back through the branch as Daisy ran
along. It seemed like everything was new to her with the snow on it. I
stopped and took a couple pictures of our house with the snow all around
and Daisy was running back and forth like she couldn't wait to go ahead
and smell more things.
We
continued around the fields and finally loaded Daisy in the back to
cross the creek. After driving to the barn, we gave her food and made
sure her water wasn't froze, then parked the Mule and went inside.
Posted on Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Another Problem Day for Stacey
Linda came leading Stacey into the bedroom about 5:45 AM. She said Stacey was having some problems. She laid down beside me and I placed my arm across her arms so I could tell how often she was having involuntary movements. They were mild movements so I didn't give Stacey any Valium right them. After about an hour, Stacey was still having mild movements. Linda took over and I went into the kitchen to get a drink. Linda took Stacey to the bathroom and I heard a loud whack. Linda yelled for me and I went back to the bedroom to find Linda picking Stacey up off the bathroom's tile floor. Stacey had dropped like a rock and hit her head fairly hard on the floor. It popped up a knot on the back of her head. Linda wanted to give Stacey Valium, so we followed Dr Zhu's directions and gave her 15 mg. We took Stacey back to the bed after she had went to the bathroom. We both set in the bedroom and watched Stacey. She seemed to respond to the Valium and quit having any movements. She wasn't completely out of trouble though. In about an hour, Stacey seemed to get better. Later, I left the house around 11 AM to help Steve Riddle build a shed on the side of an old building at his place on Jone's Ridge. I gave Linda the cell phone number that Steve had and told her to call if Stacey became worse or she needed help. Up on the ridge, Steve Anderson, Steve Riddle and I cut the pressure treated posts and dug holes, then put the posts in the ground. We also screwed on several of the joist hangers and mounted the cross beams that hold the joists. We worked until about 5 PM and then I returned to find Linda and Stacey still in the bedroom. Linda had gave Stacey another 5 mg of Valium around 4:45 PM and Stacey was doing pretty good. I took a quick shower and then let Linda do something else for a little bit. She fed Daisy and then cooked some pork loins in BBQ sauce for our supper.
Posted on Saturday, March 15, 2008
1956 Chevy Is Running
Pauline and Brent came over late Friday evening. We had picked up Julie earlier and brought her home with us. Saturday morning Pauline fixed everyone breakfast of bacon and eggs and after playing with Julie a while, Brent and I stepped out to the garage to work on the 56 Chevy. I had ordered a new distributor and coil and we took out the old stuff and began replacing the parts with the new stuff. Things went slowly with dropping in the new distributor due to trouble lining up the oil pump shaft with the bottom of the distributor shaft. After about a half hour, we had it in and were working on running the new spark plug wires to the correct locations. We stopped for lunch of home made pizzas and then went back and mounted the coil to the firewall. We ran the new wires to the resistor, then to the coil and finally to the distributor. I opened the garage door and told Brent to try to start the car. The battery charge was low and the car wouldn't start. We put the battery charger on it and took a ride around the farm to let Daisy run. About 30 minutes later we returned to the garage and unplugged the battery charger. Brent tried to start the car again. No luck, but we thought we heard it fire. I turned the distributor slightly and told Brent to give it another try. This time it started and ran. That was great to hear it running again. We shut the car off and fixed the wires permanently and also hooked up the tachometer. I hooked up the electric choke also. We started the car several more times and moved the distributor slightly until the motor smoothed out. It was raining most of the day, so we decided to wait until tomorrow before taking the car out of the garage for a test ride. We went in the house and played with Julie and had some BBQ tenderloins for supper. We played some penny ante poker until almost time to go to bed.
Posted on Sunday, March 16, 2008
1956 Chevy Pictures
Saturday Brent and I had installed a new distributor and coil in the 56
Chevy but were unable to drive it due to the rain. Sunday morning it
wasn't raining, so we drank a cup of coffee and then started the car and
backed it out of the garage. We made a short lap down the road and back
to the house to make sure it was going to run. I went inside and grabbed
the camera and came back out to take a few pictures of the car as it was
nearly ready for the road. 
Brent
drove down the driveway and towards town to Salem Park where we stopped
and I took several pictures of the car.
There
are several things that still need to be done like setting the timing
with a timing light and setting the point dwell. We need to buy a few
more items such as a new steering wheel and a radio, but the main thing
right now is to get the car to town and get the IN title changed to a KY
title and get legal plates on it. We already have insurance.
Posted on Thursday, March 20, 2008
It's Official - It's Spring
Spring officially arrived this morning just a few minutes past midnight.
The daffodils didn't wait on the official timing of Spring to burst
through the ground and bloom. We let Daisy jump into the back of the
Mule and we took her with Stacey and I as we took a few pictures of the
daffodils.
Posted on Sunday, March 23, 2008
Happy Easter
Just a quick post to wish everyone a Happy Easter and we hope the Easter
Bunny left you a lot of goodies.
Posted on Saturday, March 29, 2008
Quilting Party
Pauline, Brent and Julie came over early Saturday morning to visit.
Pauline and Linda were going to work on a quilt so Brent and I checked
out a battery float charger he had picked up for me at Harbour Freight
in Bowling Green. Then we started up the 1956 Chevy after putting a
timing light on it. We set the timing with the vacuum unhooked and the
car seemed to run better. We took the timing light off and decided to
try driving it down the road. I told Brent I would follow in the truck
because the car had been running out of gas for some reason. The tank
has plenty, but it may be debris clogging the filter. He backed out of
the garage and headed towards town with plans on turning around at Salem
Park, but the car never made it that far. I had to pull in front with
the pickup and Brent hooked up the snatch strap and then he pulled me
home in the car. I started it a few times while he was pulling but the
56 wouldn't remain running. We pulled the car to the garage and pushed
it in by hand. After a few minutes inside, Brent and I went to town for
groceries while Linda, Stacey, Julie and Pauline were quilting. We
picked up BBQ pork loin dinners from Hamilton's and took them back to
the house for lunch. The girls were making progress on the quilt pieces.
They
had all the blocks put together with the borders by about 9:30 PM.
I
took a couple short movies with our camera of Julie pushing a riding toy
as she is learning to walk. You can view the movies
on Brent's
Thoughts.
