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Posted on Sunday, October 02, 2011
Meeting, Meeting, Campaign, Car Show
Wednesday Stacey and I attended the Events Committee meeting.
Thursday,
Linda and Stacey went to a Home Makers event while I went to the
Cumberland River Cruisers club meeting.
Friday, Stacey, Linda and I
attended a Democratic Campaign event at the Agriculture Building in
town. They had a band playing and gave away hot dogs, drinks and dessert
to everyone in attendance. Linda is on the Democratic Executive Board
and was one of the planners of the meeting. They raffled off a big
screen TV to make money and also took donations.
Saturday
morning we went to Alex Montgomery Chevy Dealership to run a car show
with some of the members of the Cruisers' car club. The weather was in
the mid 60s, windy and partly sunny when the car show began at 10 AM.
The people that entered their vehicles voted on paper ballots for their
three favorites. We counted the votes and started giving away the
trophies at 2 PM. Terry Riley gave his Dealer's Choice Trophy to a guy
with a 1930 Model A.
We
presented the Top Ten Trophies and the Long Distance Trophy and a blue
1957 Chevy BelAir won Best of Show. We took a picture of all of the
trophy winners together and the Best of Show winner and his family
beside their car. You can see all the car show pictures by clicking HERE.
Sunday,
we rested for a while. We went to Hot Rod BBQ for lunch. I watched some
NFL football for a while, then went outside and took the tractor to the
top of the hill and mowed the trails.
Posted on Wednesday, October 05, 2011
Water Lines
Steve Riddle had asked about me helping him with installing two frost
free hydrants on Jone's Ridge and I said I would. He came by early
Tuesday morning and Stacey rode with him while I drove the tractor up
the hill to Nancy and Steve's farm on Jone's Ridge. I used the back hoe
on the tractor to dig the trenches for the water lines while Steve put
together the two hydrants and fittings to hook them to the water lines.
The digging took a while, but went fairly well until we tried to find
the existing water line. Steve was in the ditch, trying to use a shovel
to locate the existing line, but I found it first, with the back hoe and
I busted the line before I knew what happened. That put a kink in our
plans to finish in one day. Steve had to buy another piece of PVC pipe
to replace what was busted and that meant another trip to the hardware
store. Mark Pierce joined us late in the afternoon and watched as we
worked. We hooked up as much as we could before quiting for the day.
Nancy and Linda came out to see how we were doing when they were done
working. We all headed home a little after 5 PM.
Wednesday
morning, Stacey and I drove the HHR out to Jone's Ridge and waited a
little while till Steve arrived with the new piece of pipe. We dug up
the rest of the busted line and replaced the stuff that was damaged. We
turned the water on and checked for leaks. We found a few, tightened up
the hose clamps and screwed in the fittings tighter to stop the leaks.
We hooked up the second hydrant and then ran water through the entire
system to make sure everything worked. Since I had a meeting that I
needed to attend, we stopped without covering up the lines with dirt and
decided we would wait and see if everything held together. Steve was
also going to run some electric wire through conduit in the same trench
and would need a little more time to do that. We plan on filling in the
ditches Friday morning, provided things stay together. Stacey and I went
to the Events Committee meeting at noon.
Posted on Friday, October 07, 2011
Heritage Days: Cruise-In & Sock Hop
A couple of the things the Events Committee had been planning were a
Sock Hop & Cruise-In. I had lined up a DJ and several of the Cruisers to
bring their cars to the Hop. Linda, Stacey and I took the 56 Chevy and
the 65 Mustang and parked them on the Courthouse Square with several
other old cars and trucks. The DJ was about ready to begin playing 50's
& 60's music and I helped him setup his speaker system. A little bit
later, Pauline and Brent arrived with Julie and Kyle, Julie was dressed
in her "poodle" skirt outfit.
There
were hoola hoop, bubble gum bubble blowing and limbo contests and also
several dance contests and best costume contests with the winners
decided by the crowd making noise. There were probaby 300 people
gathered around listening to the music and watching the contests.
Posted on Saturday, October 08, 2011
Heritage Days: Parade & Car Show
After french toast for breakfast, we went to the pole barn and readied
the cars to go to the car show in Burkesville. Brent was taking the 58
Triumph, Linda the 65 Mustang and I was taking the 56 Chevy. We loaded
the stuff for the car show in the trunks of the Mustange and the Chevy.
Pauline took the Traverse with some things in it too. After the short
drive to town, we setup the tables and all the stuff for the car show.
Brent and I went to get ice for the drinks we were going to sell, then
we returned and iced down the coolers. Pauline and Brent took Julie and
Kyle uptown to watch the parade. I drove the 56 Chevy to the high school
parking lot to be in the parade. The parade moved slowly through town
and wound up at the park where the car show was going to take place.
Carol,
Stacey and Linda were registering cars when I parked the 56 Chevy. We
took turns walking to the park and looking at the booths and checking
out the food vendors. There were music acts on the stage too. Julie
walked with me on one of my trips and I let her play on the playground
equipment. The girls counted the votes and we began drawing for the door
prizes at 2 PM. The trophy winners were announced and presented with
their trophies. Stacey was presented a trophy for the 56 Chevy. A guy
with a 64 Corvette won the Best of Show trophy.
We
packed all the stuff in the cars and went back to the farm. After a
quick round of restroom breaks, all of us loaded into the 56 Chevy and
went up the hill to Jone's Ridge and the Garmon's cabin. They had
invited us to a hog roast and Pauline had made a large plate of brownies
for our contribution to the dinner. We were a little late, but it worked
out great as the line for the food was just about gone. We said hello to
people and then joined the end of the short line and filled our plates.
We talked with others as we ate. Betty Garmon asked me to take a picture
of everyone that was there, so Steve Garmon got their attention and we
lined the people up for a group photo.
We
stayed until 5:30, then went back to the farm, changed clothes since it
was getting dark and cooler, then took the Traverse back to town to
watch the River Boat Revue. The revue was a musical performed by the
Cumberland County High School students.
It
lasted about an hour and when we returned to the farm, we were all tired
and ready for bed.
Posted on Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Signs
Linda's friend, Sue Ann, asked if Linda wanted a Beshear/Abramson sign
for our yard. Of course, Linda did, because she and Sue Ann knew it
would antagonize one of our neighbors, so Sue Ann brought one to the
house. I picked up two steel "T" posts and the sledge hammer at the barn
and we went down to the front yard. I pounded the posts into the ground
and then Linda and I wired the signs to the posts and the job was done.
Posted on Saturday, October 15, 2011
Family Hay Ride
Shelly & Jeff, Linda K & Imon, Pauline & Brent and family arrived at our
farm Friday. Shelly and Jeff were the first to arrive and they parked
their camper in the driveway and setup their campsite. Linda and Imon
arrived next and then Pauline and Brent with Julie. We set outside
Friday evening around Shelly and Jeff's portable firepit, laughing and
talking until nearly 10 PM. Saturday morning after Shelly and Linda
fixed breakfast, we went across the creek and gathered some dead wood
for a weiner roast later in the day.
I
hooked the hay wagon to the tractor and we went for a hay ride. We
stopped at Salem Park and looked at the dry creek bed while Julie and
Trevon played on the playground.
After
we returned to the farm, I let Trevon ride an ATV while Jeff and I rode
along.
The
wind died down just before 6 PM and we lit the wood we had stacked in
the firepit for the hot dog roast. After it burnt down a little, Linda
went to the house and brought back the weiners, buns and stuff to put on
them. We also roasted marshmallows. We went to the house at 8 PM and
Linda fixed hot fudge cakes for everyone for dessert. Mmm good!
Posted on Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Loads Of Logs
Linda has worked at the school all week and Stacey and I went to a
meeting today. We ordered our lunch in the restaurant and the waitress
delivered our food to us while we were at the meeting. Several of the
others also ate during the meetings since it occurred during their lunch
hours. After the conclusion of the meeting, we headed to the farm and as
I was driving, I noticed that the loggers were working across the creek.
We parked the HHR in the garage and drove the Mule down the road and
across the creek to see how things were going. They had busted a
hydraulic cylinder on the loader about a week ago, but had received the
replacement and had it mounted on the fork truck and were using it to
load the trucks. They had two log trucks already loaded and ready to go
to the saw mill when we pulled into the field.
They
finished strapping down the smaller load of logs and we watched as they
pulled out of the field. The ground was getting muddy and it was hard
for the trucks to get traction, but they eventually pulled out of the
field, crossed the creek and headed down the road. We went back to the
house to get out of the drizzling rain.
Posted on Friday, October 21, 2011
Subfloor & Grandma Visit
Thursday morning it was raining and nasty as we left the farm and headed
to IN. We drove the pickup truck with tile backer board in the truck bed
and a couple buckets with tools in them. I had to turn the windshield
wipers on, delay, on, delay etc. all the way because it would rain,
drizzle, rain and all with lots of wind. We ate Wendy's sandwiches as we
passed through Indy on the way to Daleville. Once we reached Mom's
house, we unloaded our stuff and carried in the tools and backer boards.
I sat down a few minutes and relaxed, then started measuring the floor
and cutting the tile backer boards. It took a while to get them all cut
to fit, then Linda labeled the boards so we would know where they went
and I picked them up and leaned them against the wall in the order we
would use them. Linda ran a partial bucket of water and I poured some of
it into another bucket and began adding the quick set mortar. We added
more mortar and water until the mix was about right, then I stirred it
for about 20 minutes. We set it aside and let it "slake" for 5 minutes,
that was a good time to take a break for a cold pop. I stirred the
mortar again and then poured part of it on the floor. I used a 1/4"
grooved trowel to spread the mortar over the area one of the tile backer
boards would cover, then we laid down the board and nailed it to the old
floor with roofing nails. We followed that procedure over and over until
the bathroom and hallway were done.
That
was about all we could handle after the ride from KY to IN, so Linda
went to Arby's and picked up some sandwiches. She brought those back to
the house and we ate. We took showers and went to bed.
Friday
morning, we had coffee and cinnamon rolls for breakfast. Linda and I
were both complaining about our knees and legs hurting, so all we did
was measure and mark the guide lines I'll use to lay the tiles. We
changed clothes and went to the Woodlands Nursing Home in Muncie to
visit Mom. The Woodlands was decorated nicely with mums and colorful
flowers along the walkways. We went inside and found Virginia near the
office. We went down to the dinning area and sat there and talked with
her. Mom was in a good mood and seemed to be feeling pretty decent. It
was nice to visit with her in a decent mood. Stacey gave Grandma a
University of KY blanket that Linda had made.
We
stayed a couple hours until the staff began bringing in the lunches. We
used that as a reason to tell Mom we needed to go get something to eat.
We ate pizza at a Pizza King, then stopped at a Dollar Store and bought
some goodies for Mom. We had waited to see if she had any left before
buying another batch. We drove back to the Woodlands and Linda took the
things into Mom. It was nearly 3 PM when we returned to Daleville and we
were too tired to do much work. Linda cleaned up the kitchen and some
things out of the basement, but we didn't do much work on the floor. I
cut small pieces to fill in around the outside of the larger boards.
Imon stopped by after he got off work and we talked until he headed
home. We went to Anderson and ate at Applebee's around 8 PM, then back
to Daleville and to bed.
Saturday morning we had coffee and toast for
breakfast, then cleaned up our mess, packed our stuff into the truck and
left for KY about 8:30 AM. Traffic was light until the backup right
before the Ohio River bridge. I exited at the 1 mile marker and drove to
King Fish Restaurant. I went inside the "take out" section and ordered
"Fish & Rings". I had parked the truck facing the river and the girls
were waiting in it with Coco. We sat there, watching the debris flow
past as we ate our fish sandwiches and onion rings. Sometimes, you have
to make allowances when traveling with a dog, This one wasn't too bad.
We pulled out of the parking lot and back onto I-65 after eating and
avoiding the traffic backup again. We made it home a little after 2 PM
without a problem.
Posted on Sunday, October 23, 2011
Network Problems
Wednesday evening our home network stopped functioning. I determined the
wireless router was the problem. It hooks to the DSL modem and hands out
the IP addresses to the computers on our network. I guess it just died
inside, none of the computers could access anything on the internet and
none could contact any other computer on our home network. As I posted
earlier, we headed to IN on Thursday to visit with my Mom.
Friday, I
contacted Brent and asked him about fixing the network for us. I asked
him to go to our house Saturday morning and either replace or repair the
router. He agreed to take a look Saturday and said he planned on
replacing the router with a newer one and taking the old one home with
him to see what had happened to it if possible.
Saturday morning,
Brent called and said he had replaced the router and we would be able to
get on the internet again. He had left our house and was on his way
home. So were we, we had left IN and were about half way between Indy
and Louisville. When we arrived at the house, there was still some work
to be done to restore our home network to the level it had been before
the router had crashed. I messed with the PCs a little while, then went
outside to enjoy the rest of the day. We had been inside too much in IN,
it seemed there wasn't anywhere to go or anything to do but set inside
the house up there.
Sunday morning, I chatted with Brent on Skype and
we discussed what was needed to return the home network to operation. I
worked on making the changes to the settings of several PCs and they
started becoming visible on the home network. I eventually had to unplug
the wireless repeater at the pole barn and take it to the house and
physically plug it into the network to change the settings in it. Then I
returned the unit to the pole barn and finally, everything was working!
Posted on Thursday, October 27, 2011
Successfull Turkey Hunters
Our neighbor, Regina Jones and her daughter, Sondra Jones, had been
hunting turkey in the 'holler' across the creek from the house since
Monday. Sondra had setup a blind back there. The weather had been dry
and they hadn't seen anything Monday or Tuesday. When we talked Tuesday
afternoon, it was said that the turkeys might be moving on Wednesday
because there was rain predicted. Early this morning, it began raining
and the temperature dropped into the low 50s. A little after 8 AM this
morning, I saw Regina riding on the ATV with Sondra and they were headed
across the creek in the rain. They rode part of the way back into the
'holler', then parked the ATV and walked the rest of the way back to the
blind. Around 1:30 PM, the door bell rang and when I went to the door,
it was Regina and Sondra. They had two turkeys they had killed. I
grabbed a sweatshirt and went outside with the camera and took a picture
of Regina and Sondra with the two turkeys they had harvested.
Posted on Friday, October 28, 2011
Lacy Visits Again
Linda brought Lacy King home with her from the elementary school to stay
with us a few hours Friday evening. Her Grandma, Karen King, had to
attend a teachers conference in Bowling Green. Lacy is six years old and
a little bit scared of dogs, so she was timid around Coco for a while,
but after a few minutes, they became accustomed to each other and both
began acting normal. Lacy played with several of the toys and then had a
snack before Karen picked her up at 5:30 PM.
Posted on Saturday, October 29, 2011
Wicked
Pauline and Brent had asked Stacey and Jason to go with them to
Nashville to see a live show called "Wicked". Stacey had made
arrangements with Jason and we picked him up at 10 AM, then drove to
Glasgow. We passed through the Wendy's drive up and picked up sandwiches
for everyone to eat on the rest of the ride to Pauline and Brent's
house. Linda and I were going to babysit Julie and Kyle while Pauline
and Brent went to the show. We all played with the kids for a little
bit, while Pauline finished getting ready to go. They said good bye and
away they went, leaving us with Julie and Kyle. We continued watching TV
while the kids played for an hour or more. Kyle took a short nap, then
we loaded into our HHR and drove to Bowling Green. We went to the mall
and right to the food court. Julie, Kyle and Linda ate Chinese while I
had a hamburger. We walked around the mall and I watched Julie and Kyle
play in the middle of the mall walkways while Linda shopped. When she
finished shopping, we drove to Sam's Club and bought some groceries. We
packed the groceries into the back of the HHR and went back to Pauline
and Brent's house a little after 7 PM. Around a half hour later, Brent
parked their Traverse in the driveway and they all came inside. Everyone
said the show was "great" and talked about how the singers had excellent
voices. They each remarked about how well they had like the show and
that they stopped and ate after the show and the food was good too.
Once
things settled down, we said our good byes to the kids and then left for
the ride back to Burkesville. We dropped Jason off around 8:30 PM at his
house, then went on home.