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Posted on Saturday, November 01, 2008
Aunt Vera's Birthday
A few weeks ago, Linda's Aunt Vera Bellamy had called and told her that
several of her family were coming to her house in IL for her birthday
and she asked Linda if she would come too. Linda told her it would
depend on how Stacey was doing, but we would try to make it. Stacey has
been doing well, so we headed over there Friday a little before noon. We
took the Cumberland Parkway to Bowling Green and then the Natcher
Parkway to the Western KY Parkway, where we drove through areas with
trees full of leaves in beautiful fall colors and finally we took I-24
into Paducah, KY. We stopped and picked out a room for the evening at
the Country Inn, put our things in the room and Linda and Stacey went
shopping while I rested.
The
girls came back and then we all went to a nearby steakhouse for supper.
We returned to the room and went to sleep around 9:30 PM watching TV.
Saturday
morning, we woke and ate the free continental breakfast at the Country
Inn and then filled up with gas and headed to IL. After about an hour
drive, we arrived at Linda's Aunt Vera's house. We met Peter, who was
outside walking his and Helen's new dog. We went inside and said hello
to Vera and Aunt Jean. A little bit later, Kathy and her son Bart
arrived, then we had lunch and then birthday cake for Vera's 94th
birthday. Everyone set around talking and telling stories for a while,
then the girls decided to take a trip to the family graveyard. As they
went outside, I asked them all to stand together for a couple pictures.
Full
Size Picture
In the picture on the right, left to right,
Bart, Aunt Jean, Stacey, Kathy, Linda. Aunt Vera, Helen and Peter.
The
guys stayed at the house and watched TV, talked and played with the dog,
Sophie, while the girls were gone. Once the girls came back, there was
more talk and then we had to say our good byes. Everyone hugged and then
we left and headed for Paducah. We stopped and ate supper in Padocah,
then drove the rest of the way home, arriving a little before 11 PM.
Posted on Friday, November 07, 2008
Rained Out
Pauline, Brent and Julie came over late Thursday evening with plans to
take Linda with them and go to IN Friday, Saturday and Sunday. This
morning, we awoke to rain and colder temperatures. Pauline and Brent
were coughing and not feeling real well. Linda fixed breakfast as the
rain continued. Their plan had been to load the refrigerator and a
microwave from the house trailer into the back of the pickup truck and
take it to Brent's Grandma in IN on Saturday, but none of us thought the
rain would be good on the electrical components in the appliances, so
they decided not to go. Since they weren't feeling well, we just hung
around the house and talked and played with Julie most of the day.
Around 3 PM, the rain stopped and the sun came out for a little bit
before dark. Since everything was wet, I asked Brent if he would start a
fire and burn the brush pile we had accumulated in the fire pit. Pauline
took Julie along with them as they went down and lit the pile of brush.
Linda made some hot water and Stacey and I helped take the cups and
marshmallows to make hot chocolate. The fire was slow to start burning
since most of the brush was wet from the raining, but eventually it
burnt. We set around the fire for an hour or more drinking the hot
chocolate until the fire burnt down to mostly small embers.
As
the fire was dieing, the fog was rising off the creek and getting thick
in the valley, so we decided to go to the house.
Posted on Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Stacey's Doctor Appointment
This morning, Linda didn't want to go to Bowling Green for Stacey's doctor appointment with Dr Zhu, so she and I had some breakfast and then left about 8 AM in the HHR. We stopped and filled up with gas and headed on towards Glasgow. At Glasgow we took the Cumberland Parkway to I-65 to the Bowling Green exit. We parked in the lot and went inside the Graves-Gilbert Clinic and checked in at the reception desk. They told us Dr Zhu had moved his office, so we followed their directions and handed in Stacey's admittance paper. We waited quite a while, then Dr Zhu came in quickly from the hospital and began taking patients. Soon, Stacey was called in to the exam room and I went in also. Dr Zhu asked how Stacey was doing and commented how she seemed happier and doing better. I agreed and told him that Stacey was better than she had been for two or three years. I mentioned that the last time we had given Stacey Valium was September 23 right after he had added a third seizure control medicine. He said he thought we should continue doing what was working, but he wanted to have some blood drawn for checks on Stacey's medicine levels and her liver functions. That was it, he said to make an appointment for 3 months and the office would call tomorrow with the results of the blood tests. We left the clinic about 11:30 AM and I asked Stacey where she wanted to eat. She picked a restaurant called "Double Dawgs" that Jason and her had ate at a few months ago. She had to tell me how to get there because I had never ate at that place. We parked, went inside and ate some burgers and watched several big screen TVs as we ate. We finished and then headed back to the farm. Linda was home and we told her how the appointment went before she went to work at the day care.
Posted on Friday, November 14, 2008
Hauling the Tractor
Stacey, Linda and I rode to Campbellsville yesterday. We ate at Arby's
before walking through the flea market, then Linda and Stacey went to
Goody's while I went to Tractor Supply Company. I bought two 20' grade
70 chains and two load binders to tighten them up when securing a
vehicle to a trailer.
This morning Stacey, Linda and I went to
Burkesville and had breakfast with Jason, then returned to the farm. I
took the finish mower off the FarmTrac tractor and then hooked up the
flatbed trailer to the pickup and pulled it to the equipment shed, aired
up the tires and backed it out to a level spot in the little house's
driveway. I put the tailgate down and drove the tractor onto the
trailer. I was surprised how much the small tractor affected the truck
and trailer. As I pulled the tractor up the back ramp on the trailer,
the trailer nearly raised the back end of the pickup truck off the
ground. I parked the tractor about midway on the trailer and locked the
brakes and put the transmission in gear. I used the two chains and the
binders to secure the tractor on the trailer, then went to the house to
wash up before leaving for Tompkinsville. Stacey wanted to ride along,
so we headed to Burkesville and then towards Glasgow. I was a little bit
nervous as I wasn't sure of the trailer being able to handle the weight
of the tractor, but everything went well. We turned off of 90 and headed
to Tompkinsville and stopped at the Grandview Welding shop. That is
where I bought the tractor and they were going to service it. I told
them what I thought needed to be done and they said it would probably be
Monday before they worked on the tractor. Stacey and I left and stopped
for a sandwich before returning to the farm.
Posted on Saturday, November 15, 2008
A New Puppy
Ever since our
little dog, Missy passed away a few weeks ago, Linda has been
searching for a new puppy. We found one on the internet site called goLSN.
The dog was listed as a part Yorkie and part Chihuahua and located near
Jamestown, TN. We exchanged several emails with the seller, then agreed
to meet them at the Wal-Mart in Jamestown. We ate breakfast, dressed and
jumped in the HHR with the laptop using the GPS to find our way. It was
a good thing we took the laptop, because the Wal-Mart had moved and it
helped us find the new location. We arrived about 20 minutes early and
waited for the breeder to show up. It was raining hard as she drove up,
we hopped out and their little mother dog was running around. We looked
over the male dog and Linda set him in the back of the HHR so she could
see how he responded. It was a sale, she paid the lady, they kissed the
dog good bye and we hopped back in the car and took off. We had taken a
small doggy afghan to keep him warm on the ride home and after a few
minutes of kissing and climbing around on Linda and Stacey he laid down
and slept. We pulled the car into the garage and Linda took the dog out
by the back porch and set him down in the grass and he did his business
right away, then followed us into the house as we called.
I
was amazed at that, but I expect some mistakes as time goes on. Linda
set down a bowl of food and a small ashtray with water for him and he
ate and drank, so it seems it was a fairly easy transition to our place.
We
have agreed on Coco as his name since he is chocolate in color.
Posted on Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Dr Visit & Saw Mill Cut
I fixed breakfast this morning, then we showered and dressed for
Stacey's appointment with Dr Rice at 11 AM. We went to his new location
by the hospital and had to fill out all new information forms. We saw Dr
Rice and he checked Stacey and said he had received a letter from Dr Zhu
concerning Stacey. He was glad to see and hear that Stacey was doing
better and said he would see her in 3 months. After the appointment we
ate lunch at J&D Mart on the south edge of town, then rode through the
highway work area that local people call the "saw mill cut". It is a
narrow roadway that curves through the hillsides where Highway 90 comes
through the hills to Burkesville. A few weeks ago the crews began by
clear cutting the trees from the area to be leveled. Now, they have
flagmen controlling the traffic while large dump trucks are being loaded
and hauling the rock debris from the hills away from the track hoes.
We
rode through the area going west on 90, then turned around and came back
through. The bulldozers have cut small roads on angles up the hillsides
for the track hoes to move to the top.
There
isn't as much being done on the west side of the hillside yet. But as we
drove back through the cut, there was a track hoe at the top of the hill
filling very large dump trucks with rock. The trucks were hauling the
rock debris to a valley on the east side of the hill and dumping. It's
not a large operation right now, three bulldozers, two track hoes and
two dump trucks are doing most of the work. It appears that there is
also some drilling equipment in case they hit real solid rock that the
track hoes can't bust apart, but they're not drilling yet.
As
the valley is filled with debris, I believe they will start hauling it
close to our farm to use for fill where Highway 61 will be relocated and
raised. We returned to the farm and Linda went to work at the day care.
Posted on Friday, November 21, 2008
Tractor Pickup
Grandview Welding and Equipment Sales called today just after lunch and
said the FarmTrac was done. I told them I would be after it in a little
while. Stacey wanted to ride along, so we headed down to the equipment
shed where I had left the pickup truck hooked to the trailer. We checked
the air in the trailer tires and left for Tompkinsville. After the ride
over there, we parked and went inside. I paid for the service on the
tractor and they told me what they had done as warranty work. I drove
the tractor up the hill to the level area to load it on the trailer
while Stacey took pictures. As I pulled the tractor on the back of the
trailer, the weight caused the rear wheels of the truck to raise off the
ground. I pulled the tractor on forward on the trailer to balance the
load, then set the parking brake and turned off the engine and left the
transmission in gear.
I
then chained the tractor to the trailer and used the binders to tighten
the chains to hold it in place. After putting chains on both ends of the
tractor, we were ready to go, so I took a picture of Stacey right before
we left. We hauled the tractor home, unloaded it, put it in the
equipment shed and parked the trailer in another shed and we were done.
Posted on Sunday, November 23, 2008
Wedding Anniversary
Thirty five years ago, Linda and I went to a Justice of the Peace and
were married in Anderson, IN. Our marriage hasn't been easy, but it has
remained constant, never splitting apart, but fussing a lot of the time.
We never say it enough, but I know, I love Linda and I believe she loves
me, or we could never have lasted this long.
Happy
35th Anniversary !
Posted on Thursday, November 27, 2008
Happy Thanksgiving
Linda began cooking the turkey around 4 AM and was busy most of the
morning. Pauline, Brent & Julie arrived around 9:30 AM and most of the
cooking was put on hold while we played with Julie and they played with
Coco. Linda had most of the meal ready when Stacey and I left to pick up
Jason at his house. We picked him up at 11:30 and returned to the farm
and dinner was ready within a few minutes. The food was good and
everyone ate too much, as usual. We set there a few minutes talking,
then Pauline and Jason took their plates to the sink signaling they were
done. Somebody asked if they needed to help clean up, I spoke up and
said that Brent and I would do the dishes since Linda had did all the
cooking. Pauline helped us by bringing the dirty dishes over to the
counter and cleaning off the table. I washed, Brent dried, and Stacey
put away the pots and pans. We used the dishwasher for the glasses,
plates and silverware. As soon as we finished the work, we took the
little dogs and went for a walk around the upper area behind the
equipment shed. The little dogs ran around and had fun while we walked
off some of the dinner we had just consumed. When we came back past the
barn, Linda took the little dogs inside and left them in the house.
Jason and Stacey started the Mule and backed it out of the barn. I
started the ATVs and PB&J rode on one while Linda and I rode on another.
We picked up Daisy and headed around the fields. Stacey drove the Mule
with us following most of the way, then I pulled up beside them and told
Stacey to let Jason drive around the field the second time around.
Jason
drove the Mule to a place in the creek where we all stopped and skipped
rocks across the water while Daisy ran around. Julie even threw rocks in
the creek. We stayed for about 20 minutes, then continued on around the
field and back to the other hay fields across from the house. Julie saw
Linda riding behind me on the ATV and wanted to ride with us, so Brent
sat her down on the ground and she came over and rode the rest of the
way with Linda and me.
We
finished the ride by putting the Mule and ATVs back in the barn while
Linda put Daisy back in the barn stall and gave her a bunch of the
scraps and juices from cooking the turkey breast. We all went inside and
those that wanted, ate chocolate pie, or lemon pie, or pumpkin pie.
Jason, Brent and I started playing pool upstairs, then Stacey and Jason
teamed up and played 8-ball pool against Pauline and Brent as we
listened to music and watched a slide show of pictures on the big screen
TV. Just after 3 PM, Stacey and I took Jason and headed to his house. We
dropped him off, then returned to the farm. We relaxed, talked, napped,
and watched TV the rest of the evening.
We hope that everyone
that reads our family blog had a nice Thanksgiving!
Posted on Saturday, November 29, 2008
Friday & Saturday
Pauline, Brent and Julie stayed the night and I fixed us all breakfast
to start the day.
Julie
rode with Brent and I as we took Daisy for a run early. On the way back
to the barn, we stopped at the house trailer and did a walk through so
Brent would know what needed to be removed before the Highway Department
took the trailer. It was a little depressing, realizing that all the
stuff we had in there, would soon be gone and all we would have left
would be our memories. We returned to the house and after putting Daisy
back in the barn, we played with Julie. Slightly after 2 PM, Brent and I
went outside and drove the Mule down to the spot where the old house had
stood. We were looking around when the guy from the Highway Department
showed up to estimate how much he would pay us to remove the stuff from
the house trailer. After walking through the trailer and taking
pictures, he walked around the barns and took pictures of the stuff in
them too. He talked to Brent about the trailer, then to me about the
amount he could pay us for the barn, boat shed and ground. I was
surprised, he made a much better offer that I told him I would accept if
he could get it approved. Finally, good news about the road! As he was
about done, I noticed we had unexpected visitors. I thought it was Kim
and Kenny from IN. As soon as the appraiser left, we went inside and my
guess was right, it was Kim, Kenny and Kim's grandson, Jordan. We spent
the rest of the evening watching Julie and talking with everyone. PB&J
stayed all night and Kim, Kenny and Jordan were staying until Sunday.
Saturday
morning, Pauline and Stacey fixed breakfast and after eating, Jordan and
I went for his first ATV ride. I just started him out riding around the
hay fields, then back to the house. He played video games on the xBox
upstairs for a while after that ride. Everyone else sat and watched
Julie and talked until almost time for lunch. Linda and Kenny began
cooking fish that Kim and Kenny had brought with them, so Jordan and I
took Julie for a ride in the Mule with Daisy running the fields. I let
Jordan drive the Mule around the fields. We went back to the house and
ate a big lunch of fried fish, potatoes and corn bread with a few other
sides. After we ate, Brent and I moved the refrigerator and microwave
oven out of the house trailer. PB&J left the farm around 2:30 and
planned to stop for groceries on their way home. Later in the afternoon,
I asked Jordan if he wanted to take another ride and he did. We took the
ATVs again and rode until almost dark.
Jordan
stopped to say hello to Daisy as we went inside.
