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Posted on Thursday, April 03, 2008
Visiting Julie And Returns
Linda was supposed to babysit for Julie on Thursday and then come home, so she asked if Stacey and I wanted to go along. The weathermen were forecasting rain for most of the day, so Stacey and I went along. After a little longer than an hour drive, we arrived at PB&J's house. Pauline was almost ready to leave for her job and Brent was just hanging around playing with Julie. Pauline left about 15 minutes after we arrived, but Brent said the school where he worked was on Spring Break and he wasn't going in to work. Linda and I asked why the heck we had come over and he explained he thought we were going to Illinois on Friday and leaving from there. Linda said that trip had been canceled. We decided we would go to Bowling Green after Julie took her morning nap. A little after 10 AM we loaded into our HHR and drove to town. Our first stop was at the new Harbor Freight store. I needed to exchange an item, so Brent and I went inside and exchanged the small charger for two 'float chargers' that I will use to hopefully keep the batteries in the 4 wheelers from going bad in winter time. We left and headed to Sears at the mall. Brent called Pauline and she agreed to meet us there for lunch. Brent returned a set of tools he had bought and used my Craftsman Card to save $10 on his purchase. I returned a set of socket extensions and bought a set of tools that came in a blow molded tool box. Brent took the tool sets out to the HHR while I carried Julie and we headed to the food court to meet Pauline. He caught up and when we made our way to the food court it was packed with kids from 3 separate schools that were on Spring Break. Pauline had arrived slightly earlier than us and had her food before we did, so she ate with Julie while we all went to separate food vendors to pick our lunches. Each of us had to stand in line with probably 10 people in front of us when we entered the lines. Finally, we were all able to get our orders and eat. After finishing lunch, Pauline said so long and headed back to her job. The rest of us shopped a little bit at the mall, then loaded in the car and went to Sam's Club. So, we shopped and paid for our items there, loaded them in the car and headed back to the house. Back at PB&J's house, Linda helped me put the tools in the correct places in my new tool box while Stacey helped Brent place his set in their places. Julie took a nap while that was going on. She woke up and Linda fed her and we played with her a little while. She is walking behind her little push car really well, but can't turn it yet. Julie is just over 9 months old and had been for a checkup the day before with the doctor saying she was doing fine and giving Pauline and Brent a few pointers on some things to be doing. Not giving her a bottle any longer was one of the recommendations, with the doctor saying it will be easier to stop it now than later. I picked up my new tool box with all the tools in place and was carrying it to the car. As I went out the door all the drawers fell out and the tools fell all over the porch. About 260 tools laying all over the place. Linda, Brent, Stacey and I picked them up and again put them in their proper place in the box. It was around 4:30 PM when Stacey, Linda and I along with Missy headed back to the farm. It had rained off and on most of the day and as I drove home we noticed a lot of the creeks were muddy and flooding out of their banks. We stopped to eat in Glasgow before driving the rest of the way home arriving just before dark.
Posted on Friday, April 04, 2008
Old Timers Games
Stacey, Linda and I attended an 'Old Timers' basketball game. I was surprised at the amount of people there. Stacey went up to set with Jason in the Marrowbone section, while Linda and I found two seats in the normally reserved section. As game time neared, it was standing room only, the entire gym was filled. The high school used to be fed by 3 elementary schools, Kettle, Marrowbone and Burkesville. They divided the players up according to which school they had attended. The players had been out of school for at least 10 years, most a lot longer. Jason's mom, Stephanie was one of the cheerleaders for Marrowbone. The cheerleaders even did their old cheers and built pyramids, although some weren't able to be lifted up any longer. It was great fun and the crowd loved the antics. The competition was still in the players, but their bodies wouldn't always do what they wanted them to do. During the time between the two games they showed old pictures of the teams and cheerleaders on a large screen for the crowd to view while playing appropriate music. The entire event was for our local 'Relay For Life' charity that benefits cancer patients. Now, I'm guessing, but I'll say that is one of the best fund raising activities they have ever had, if not financially, for sure in entertainment value.
Posted on Saturday, April 05, 2008
Batteries and Debris
During the previous two days rain had prevented us from going outside and we had done some shopping. I had purchased 3 new batteries for the ATVs, so after fixing breakfast for us, I went to the hay shed to install the batteries. Stacey went along to help me and brought her iPod, so I hooked it to the radio to play music while we worked. I filled the batteries with the acid and hooked them to each 4-wheeler, then started them and let Stacey and Linda ride them around a little as I continued to install the rest of the batteries. All but one of the ATVs started after the new batteries were in place. I hooked the snatch strap to the one that wouldn't start and Linda pulled me down the road to the mum patch to get it running. It popped and cracked a few times, then finally began running. We unhooked the strap and I drove it back to the hay shed. We filled them with gas and let them run a few minutes, then shut them off and restarted to make sure they were ready to use. Stacey was eager to take a ride around the farm, so we each started one of the ATVs and headed across the road and through the creek. The water was still a little high, but safe to cross. Stacey led us around the hay fields and I surveyed the debris the creek had dropped in the hay fields again. It wasn't really bad this time, but will require the tractor to shove the stuff out of the fields again. Water was flowing off the sides of the hills and there were piles of leaves where they had washed down to the bottom. There had been a slight blockage that had built up upstream from the culvert tiles I had placed in the ditch. The water had overflowed the ditch and the crossing I had built. The dirt will need replacing again. I'm glad I have the scoop and small backhoe that mounts on the tractor to do those jobs or it would cost me money to have it done.
Posted on Sunday, April 06, 2008
Debris and ATV Ride
The weather was nicer this morning so after Linda fixed breakfast, I
took the Ford tractor and went across the creek to work on straightening
up some of the mess that the rain water had done. The creek had been out
of it's banks and flowing through the hay fields, so there were several
places that had debris left by the high water.
I
used the scoop on the tractor to scrape the debris into piles and shove
it back to the creek banks. Then I worked on the ditch that runs along
the edge of the hill and hay field. I took the back hoe and dug the
gravel and pulled it over to the side of the ATV path between the hill
and hay field. After finishing that, I put the tractor in the hay shed
and Stacey and I drove the Mule to take Daisy for a run. We crossed the
creek and Stacey unhooked Daisy and she hopped out of the back of the
Mule.
Daisy
was playing in the water and seemed to like it more than usual. I guess
it was because the temperatures were in the lower 70s, so she was
getting hot running up and down the hillsides. After letting her run for
about a half hour we took Daisy back to the barn and went inside for a
little bit. Linda came back inside and wanted to take an ATV ride so we
went back outside and all took off on the 4-wheelers. We headed back
across the creek and down the other side, picking our way along the
creek bank until we made it to the other farm.
It
was easy to notice the hay is starting to turn real green and to grow as
we rode around the fields. And when we returned home and parked the ATVs
in the barn, I noticed as I walked to the house that one of our trees
has started to bloom.
It
was about 2 weeks later last year that we had a hard freeze that damaged
a lot of trees and killed plants. Maybe we will be lucky this year and
avoid a killing freeze.
Posted on Wednesday, April 09, 2008
Stacey and New Grass Beds
Tuesday morning started with meeting Jason for breakfast with Stacey,
Linda and me at Jone's Restaurant. We had fun talking about NASCAR and
the NBA and things that Stacey and Jason liked. After breakfast, I drove
home and parked the HHR in the garage and I noticed Stacey said
something to Linda as she got out and went straight in the house. As I
followed, I found Stacey laying in the bed with Linda beside her. I
realized that Stacey was having some problems with involuntary movements
in her arms. After watching a few minutes I laid down beside her while
Linda did something else. The movements had increased in frequency and
strength so I gave Stacey 15 mg of Valium per Dr Zhu's instructions. She
reacted in about 7 to 10 minutes. Her movements stopped and her mind
seemed to return to normal functioning. We watched her until late in the
afternoon and nothing else happened. Linda and I decided to plant some
ornamental grass I had ordered several months ago from Michigan
Bulb. We gathered up the tools and then set Stacey in a lawn chair
so we could work and watch her at the same time and began on the two
beds. I ran the tiller through both patches first, then raked the ground
smooth. Linda rolled out the weed block and cut it to length. I measured
and cut the spots in the weed block for the plants and Linda planted
them. Linda and I laid the pavers around the beds and then I used the
scoop on the tractor to bring a half scoop of rocks to the new beds.
Linda and I shoveled just enough of the rocks out of the scoop onto the
weed block to hold it down. I put the tractor up while Linda put up the
Mule and we quit for the night as it was getting close to dark.
Wednesday
morning Linda fixed us a sausage biscuit for breakfast and about 7:45 AM
Stacey began having problems again. I gave her 15 mg Valium, but this
time the movements continued for a while. A half hour later Linda gave
her another 10 mg Valium and it slowed the movements down some. After
about an hour, they finally subsided and Stacey took a nap for a little
bit. She woke up shortly and seemed to be better. Of course the Valium
had her a little groggy, but it was better than her having a seizure and
a trip to the hospital. We ate lunch at home and Linda and I took turns
keeping an eye on Stacey while the other one did some odd jobs.
Posted on Friday, April 11, 2008
Severe Weather
It began raining early this morning before daylight. Linda and Stacey
were over at Pauline and Brent's house taking care of Julie, so I drank
some coffee and about 8:30 AM went to the hay shed. I started the old 8N
tractor and pulled it out of the shed. I moved the Ford tractor into the
spot where the 8N had been sitting and removed the back hoe attachment.
I let it down on cement blocks and slowly pulled the tractor away from
the back hoe. I shut the tractor off and tried to remove the pump from
the PTO, but it was stuck. I headed to the house for a can of WD-40 as
Linda pulled the HHR in the garage with Stacey, Julie, Pico and Poco
inside. After talking a minute or two, I grabbed the spray can and
headed back to the shed. After spraying the slip ring for the pump, it
slid off the PTO shaft easily. I parked the tractor back in the other
stall and started the 8N and pulled it back into the shed in front of
the back hoe attachment. I went to the house as it was raining a little
harder. Julie was playing in the living room and Linda was watching her.
I set down and let her get used to me a little, then started playing
with her too. Our weather radio alarm sounded and it was a warning for a
severe thunderstorm. The satellite TV was going off and on as often
happens when it rains hard. The Nashville TV stations were warning of
radar indicated tornadoes in the area. I checked the radar on the NWS
site and it looked like most of the extreme weather was going to the
south of us. Our weather radio signaled a tornado watch for our area. We
experienced very hard rain and some wind, but nothing severe. It wasn't
long until the creek was nearing the top of it's banks and a little bit
later it was flowing through our upper hay field.
Nashville
reported there were over 30 homes destroyed in various areas in TN.
Posted on Monday, April 14, 2008
Julie Visits and More
Our granddaughter, Julie stayed with us Friday night and Saturday night
too. Saturday during the day, Linda called and asked Stephanie if we
could pick up Jason after he worked. She said that would be OK, so we
picked him up in front of Houchens a little after 11 AM. Jason hopped in
the back seat as he usually does, but Julie was in her car seat in the
middle and she isn't used to very many strangers, so Linda and Jason had
to trade seats. Julie was OK riding between Linda and Stacey. I drove to
Columbia and we ate at Betty's Fine Dining Restaurant. Jason seemed to
enjoy the place as it has a shelf near the ceiling almost all the way
around the dinning room with NASCAR replica cars on it. There are at
least 100 and probably more. After eating we took Jason home and so that
Stephanie could see how Julie had grown. They were getting ready for
their other son, Bryant, to go to the prom that evening. Pauline and
Brent called later to see how things were going with Julie and their
dogs. We told them all was OK and talked a little bit about the wedding
they were attending in Nashville.
Sunday, Pauline and Brent arrived
and we could tell they had missed Julie. They didn't have time to talk
much because they were playing with her. They eventually slowed down and
told us how the wedding had went and what else had been going on. Brent
and I worked on the 56 Chevy a little, then took a test drive and made
it down the road and back. Brent had replaced a fuel filter and now the
car would continue running. We ate lunch of turkey breast that Linda's
Mom had sent us. It was really the best turkey I've eaten. Brent and I
drove the 56 to town and filled it up with gas to see if it would cause
the car to quit running. Linda and Brent had found a exercise machine on
a local sales web site and Brent called about it. He and I took the
truck to Baxter TN to take a look at the machine. Brent bought it, so we
loaded it in the back of the truck and headed back home. The entire trip
took three hours. PB&J decided to stay Sunday night too. Pauline was
going to have LASIK eye surgery on Monday, so they were going to be off
work anyway. They left early Monday morning to get home in time to
change clothes and get to Pauline's eye doctor appointment.
Click the
following link to watch the flash movie of Julie
Learning To Walk.
Posted on Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Mum Beginnings
Linda was working with the string trimmer and I had been mowing with the
tractor and the riding mower most of the morning. We took a break and
along with Stacey went to Subway for lunch, then came home and went
inside. Linda and I decided what kind and color of mums we were going to
order, then I called and ordered 1,000 mums. After ordering, I went to
the hay shed and took the Ford tractor across the road and removed the
bush hog from the back, then drove to the barn down by the mum patch and
hooked to the two bottom plow. I laid off a place for a small garden and
then the patch for the mums. The ground was slightly wet but seemed to
break up fairly well. After I finished the plowing, Stacey and I washed
the 1956 Chevy because Brent and I had drove it in a little bit of rain
last weekend. We had replaced a fuel filter and we wanted to see if the
problem with the car stalling had been caused by the fuel filter being
clogged. Evidently, that was the problem because we drove it to town
twice and I've drove it into town once since replacing the filter and
the car has made it everytime.
Posted on Friday, April 18, 2008
Stacey Celebrates With Jason
I had told Steve Riddle that I would ride along when he went to pick up
the metal barn siding for the shed I had helped build on his farm. He
called a little after 8 AM and then picked me up. We stopped to eat
breakfast in town and Stacey's friend, Jason was eating also. I wished
him Happy Birthday and then Steve and I ate and headed to TN. After the
ride, we went inside the office and Steve told them what he wanted. I
was standing there listening when Tony Boils came in and we started
talking. Tony and his Dad had built our house. Tony was telling me that
his son, Anthony was having some trouble. Anthony has autism and as he
was maturing it was getting worse recently. Tony thought that they had
it smoothed out now though, but said it had been rough. He asked how
Stacey was doing and I told him a little about how Stacey had been.
About then, Steve was ready to have his order loaded. We watched the guy
and gal load the metal, then we strapped it down and headed back to
Burkesville. Steve dropped me off at the farm and I went inside and let
Missy out, ate a sandwich for lunch then went back outside. I started
the tractor and plowed the patch for the pumpkins. It was still a little
too wet, but I managed to finish the patch anyway. I took the plow off
the back of the tractor and scooped up some of the gravel out of the
creek to cover the area where we go in and out at the gate. I put the
tractor in the hay shed and then drove out to Steve's farm on the ridge.
They had finished painting the old building's roof and were working on
putting up an outdoor security light. I helped with that for a while,
then headed home. I went inside and set down with the ceiling fan on to
cool off. Sat there about five minutes and then Linda and Stacey came
home. Around 6 PM, Stephannie, Jason and Tommy stopped by to pick up
Stacey. They were going to eat and wanted Stacey to go along to
celebrate Jason's birthday. Stacey gave Jason a birthday present and
card and he opened both before they left.
While
they were gone, Linda and I went to Burkesville and ate, then went back
home to wait on them to return. Tommy, Stephannie, Jason and Stacey
returned and told us about where they went and we also talked a while
longer. Stacey and Jason seemed to have had a good time.
Posted on Sunday, April 20, 2008
The Weekend
Stacey, Linda and I went to town to meet Jason and his Dad, David
Strange at Jone's Restaurant on Saturday. We were a little earlier than
Jason and his Dad, but they arrived shortly after we did. We set down
and ordered and then talked while our food was being prepared and
brought to the table. David was born and raised in Burkesville, but now
lives a little south of Bowling Green in Plano, KY. He has a business
that installs swiming pools and also does the upkeep on them. Jason has
told us he helps his Dad sometimes when he stays with him on the
weekends. We finished our lunch and continued to talk for a while about
Jason and Stacey and how they liked a lot of the same things and how
they were a little bit similar in their lives. It was good to meet David
and get to know him since Jason talks about him a lot of the time. He
bought our lunch and we said thanks and we headed back to the farm.
Jason and his Dad were going to his house in Plano for the weekend.
Sunday,
we just messed around at the farm. I took the 1956 Chevy for a ride in
to town and back. Then Linda and I tried to start the Triumph TR3. The
battery would wind it over but it still wouldn't start, so Linda used
the Mule to pull it down the road with me driving and it started. I
drove it back to the house, then north to the county line and back. It
started several times, so Linda drove it down the road to Salem Park and
back.
Posted on Friday, April 25, 2008
Julie Walking
Linda brought Julie home with her this morning and said that Julie had been walking for a few days. She said Pauline and Brent called it a 'Frankenstein' walk because of her arms being out in front of her, but I think she's doing excellent. Of course, I would, I'm her grandparent. You can see for yourself in the video below...
Posted on Saturday, April 26, 2008
Riding
Julie had came home with Linda Friday morning, so Pauline and Brent
arrived early Saturday morning anxious to see Julie. They played with
her inside while we had a light rain shower. When Julie laid down for a
morning nap, Pauline and Linda began working on the tractor quilt blocks
and Brent and I went to the garage to adjust the clutch in the 1956
Chevy. It took about 20 minutes and we were ready for a test ride. I
drove to town and the clutch was working correctly, so Brent drove back
to the farm, then back to town and we changed drivers again. When I
began driving again, I did a short burn out and then said, the clutch
was working the way it should, then continued back to the farm. Julie
was up and the girls wanted to go to a shop in Albany for some quilting
supplies, so we took the truck since it was the only vehicle that would
carry all six of us. First we ate lunch at a Mexican place and the food
was great. Then we stopped at a place that sells all sorts of stuff,
from windows and doors, shoes, pedal cars, planting material, hardware,
to nuts and bolts. After scrounging around in there for about a half
hour, we stopped at the store for the quilting supplies. Linda and
Pauline could have stayed in there for hours, but Brent and I were
having trouble keeping Julie happy. After about 45 minutes the girls
checked out and we headed back to the farm. The sky had cleared and it
was a nice day outside, so we did some things outside. Brent and I cut a
tree that was falling into the edge of the hay field. It was small and
only took us about 15 minutes to pile the limbs on the black trailer and
pull them to the edge of the creek. As we returned the trailer and
chainsaws to the barn we noticed an old cat laying beside a group of
birdhouses and bird feeders Linda and I had made. It looked like he was
waiting on supper to come flying home. 
Linda
had bought a homemade wagon to use to pull Julie, so they loaded her and
a Care Bear in the seat, strapped her down and pulled her up and down
the walkway.
Pauline
and Brent took a ride in the TR3 into town and picked them up a malt at
the local ice cream shack. 
Then
returned to the farm and we added a quart of oil to the motor and we
took a lap around Little Renoux Creek to make sure the oil pressure was
OK. I also noticed that there were a few hummingbirds feeding at Linda's
new bird feeder.
So,
the hummingbirds are back and so are the purple martins. I guess, summer
is here, oh, and it was in the 80s this week.
Posted on Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Flowers
We went to town Tuesday to meet Jason for breakfast and talked about
what had been going on with him. Afterwards we rode over close to
Glasgow and drove through a farm that sold used machinery and some new.
The place was out in the country and they had quite a bit of newer
equipment, but the old stuff looked like mostly trade in pieces. We
continued to Glasgow and went shopping a while, then to Ben and Elmer's
Tractor Sales. I picked up a couple of product handouts for hay balers
and rakes and talked to a salesman about the prices, then we left and
went to Mancino's for lunch. We returned to the farm and Linda went to
work at the day care.
Wednesday morning, we headed to near Greensburg
to buy flowers for decorating around the house. There is a small
greenhouse there that has nice flowers and we've done our flower
shopping there the last 3 years. Linda picked out the stuff she wanted
and we loaded it in the HHR, but just barely. We stopped in Columbia and
ate lunch before returning to the farm. Once home, I unloaded the
flowers and then used the Mule with the trailer to haul the cement pots
from inside the barn to the front sidewalk. Linda planted the flowers in
the pots and a few other places.
