« October 2015 | Main | December 2015 »
Posted on Tuesday, November 03, 2015
Olevia's Childcare & Stacey's Birthday
Friday after school, we packed the Equinox and headed towards Daleville,
IN. Most of the trip was uneventful, but as we neared Indy, the traffic
came to a stop on I-65. We were at the 90 mile marker and an overhead
sign had notified everyone that there was a single lane of traffic at
the 97 mile marker. I transferred to the right hand lane and about a
mile later I exited the interstate to take IN 44 towards Shelbyville. In
Shelbyville I turned onto IN 9 for the rest of the way to Anderson.
Pizza and unpacking once at the Daleville house, then relax.
Saturday
morning came early as Kim called Linda and asked if she was ready for
her to pick Linda up. Linda said "No, we're going to eat breakfast
first, then Dave will bring me over to Lapel." So that was the way it
went, we all went to Lapel, arriving about 10 AM. Linda and Stacey
helped Kim with whatever she needed done while I hooked up the 4 PCs and
made sure they all worked one at a time. The electrician was a little
scared of having all 4 PCs running on one circuit. There were several
people there helping put things in place and get ready for the open
house later than evening. We had a light lunch of a coney dog, corn and
chips before I helped Jeremy attach the signs Linda and I had made to
the outside fences.
After
that, Stacey and I went back to the Daleville house and hung out. Linda
remained at the childcare location to hand out goody bags to the kids
and help with whatever was needed. Kim brought Linda home a little bit
after 10 PM. Kim seemed pleased with the turnout and happy that there
had been several people come to help her get the childcare ready to go.
Sunday
morning we had breakfast, then Linda called Imon to see what they had
going on. Fairly soon Linda K and Imon were knocking on the front door.
They came in and we chatted for a good while, then went to Bird's Smoke
House, where Imon bought our lunches. We ate, then sat there and talked
for another hour before splitting up with Imon and Linda K going to
Lowe's and us going back to the house in Daleville. Linda called her Mom
and took Stacey to see her in Pendleton. I watched the NASCAR Race
between naps. Mostly naps, LoL! Linda told me that she had a good visit
with Nana when they returned to the house about 9:30 PM.
Monday
morning we ate breakfast and slowly packed up to leave. Traffic through
Indy was pretty light and it was easy driving. We stopped at Edinburgh
and Linda went in several of the Outlet Mall's shops while I went inside
the Harley Davidson shop. I bought two coffee cups and returned to pick
up the girls. At Kingfish in Jeffersonville, we left all 4 windows down
about an inch with Coco inside the car. We went in this time because
Stacey wanted to celebrate her birthday by eating inside, so we went in
and ordered our meals, then Linda went back outside to see how warm the
car was getting. She said Coco would be fine, so we enjoyed our meals.
We
made it home a little before dark with the time change. I checked our
messages and had one from Chuck Anderson. He wanted to stop by on
Tuesday, so I called and we made plans for that to happen.
Tuesday
morning, Brent called before 8 AM to wish Stacey a Happy Birthday.
Around 10 AM, Chuck arrived with a Butler Sweatshirt and a couple
posters. He's trying to switch Stacey from the Pacers to the Boston
Celtics or the Butler Bulldogs. She told him that wasn't going to happen.
We
talked for a while, Linda fixed lunch and we talked after lunch. Chuck
was on his way to his winter residence in Florida and was stopping along
the way to see several friends. Before he left the door bell rang and
Stacey received a delivery of flowers and a white teddy bear from Jason
Strange. Chuck said good bye a little after 2 PM. Stacey received
several phone calls with birthday wishes the rest of the evening.
Posted on Sunday, November 15, 2015
Maxx Visits Our Farm
Brent came over with his family and Maxx Lobo early Saturday morning.
Maxx and Brent had been buddies while both attended Western Kentucky
University. They had stayed in contact with each visiting the other a
time or two after Maxx moved to California. The time seemed to evaporate
between then and now as they started talking. The only times the
conversations stopped were when Linda fixed something for everyone to
eat and a short night's sleep. We all enjoyed the time Maxx spent
visiting us. I took the picture above as they were leaving. After they
return to Pauline and Brent's house, Maxx is on his way to see his dad
in Louisville and then back to California.
Posted on Friday, November 20, 2015
Let's Burn One
For SAFETY's SAKE, Monday evening, I started taking down the old single
wall stove pipe by scooting the wood stove out from it's normal
position. The stove pipe had accumulated a fine black powder that fell
out as I slowly removed the pipe. When I pulled the pipe loose from the
through the ceiling fixture, more soot fell on me. I laid the four
pieces of old pipe out on the back porch and went back inside. About
then, the phone rang and Linda answered. Sandra had killed a deer back
in the 'holler' across from the house and was asking for help to get it
out and take it to Jone's Ridge Meats. I told Linda to tell her I'd be
right out to help. I went to wash my hands and looked in the mirror. My
face looked like a raccoon with black all around my eyes, and my blue
shirt was coal black. I drove the Mule and picked up Sandra and Regina
and as we crossed the creek it began raining, then I drove back to where
she had been hunting. The deer had dropped within 10 feet of where she
shot it, so that was no problem. I backed the Mule up to the deer and we
tried lifting it into the bed of the Mule. It was a big 9 point buck and
we could not lift it high enough to put it in the Mule's bed. Somebody
suggested pulling the Mule into the branch, where it would be lower and
we might be able to get the deer in that way. OK, I drove the Mule into
the branch and nearly immediately had the Mule stuck in knee deep gravel
& sand. I tried 4 wheel drive, posi-traction, rocking it back and forth,
Regina driving with Sandra and I pushing, nothing would get it out. I
had on tennis shoes and Sandra had hunting boots on, so she decided she
would walk across the creek and get her ATV. Then I would ride it back
to the tractor shed and get my tractor. We did that, then I used the
back hoe attachment on the tractor to pull the Mule out. I drove the
Mule back up to level ground and parked it. Then I pulled the tractor
over close to the deer and put the scoop down, we slid the deer in the
scoop. Don't know why I didn't think of that at first. We hauled the
deer up the road and dropped it off at Jone's Ridge Meats, then went
back to the farm. Sandra thanked me and apologized for being so much
trouble. I told her it wasn't that bad, nobody got hurt, we had
everything back where it belonged and the deer was being processed.
Incidentally, that is the third deer she has killed back in that
'holler'. I returned to the house and put the rod together and the
brush, taped a bag around the bottom of the flue and pushed and pulled
the brush up and down in the triple wall stove pipe that goes from the
attic to the top of the chimney. More soot fell in my face while I was
doing that and when I took it all out. After that, I took a hot shower,
scrubbing my hair and beard to remove the black soot.
Tuesday
morning, I cut the one inch off of a piece of single wall pipe to make
the pieces fit the dimension from the top of the stove to the bottom of
the ceiling fixture. Then I snapped all four of the new pieces together.
I removed the ladder I had been using and waited on Linda to come home
from the school to help hold the pipe as I slid the stove back in place.
No interruptions when we did that and it all went smoothly.
Wednesday
it rained all day.
Thursday we let the ground dry out.
Friday,
Stacey and I hauled wood from the wood shed to the back porch and
stacked it in the racks on the porch. Tonight we have the first fire of
the season in the stove. Ohhh, it feels good.
Posted on Monday, November 23, 2015
Wedding Anniversary
Linda and I celebrated our 42nd wedding anniversary by going to Major's
Pizza in Albany with Stacey. Stacey took our picture with my phone when
they brought the pizza to the table.
Posted on Sunday, November 29, 2015
Thanksgiving & More
Stacey, Linda and I had been going to the grocery and preparing for
Thanksgiving for a few days before Pauline and Brent came over with
Julie and Kyle Thursday morning. When everything was cooked we gathered
around the table and took a picture before beginning to eat.
After
dinner, Linda was intent on getting everyone outside to do something
since the weather was so nice. The temperature was around 70 degrees and
it was sunny, so we went out to cut down a tree that a group of beavers
had chewed up. They stand up and chew around the base of some trees
until it resembles the middle of a hour glass, then leave it like that
until it falls. This particular tree was a tree that would make good
firewood so I decided to take it for us to burn. We finished cutting the
tree down and dropped it into the creek, then hooked a chain to the
trunk and tractor, then pulled it onto the creek bank. After Brent cut
the small limbs off, I pulled the rest into the hay field. That meant
there was nothing we had to pick up that we didn't want to keep. We
hauled the wood back to near the wood shed with the Mule and trailer,
then dumped it into a pile.
Friday we did our usual things, I made
omelets, we let the dog run, rode ATVs, swung on the rope swing, ate pop
sickles and dinked around. Everyone but me went swimming at the Wellness
Center in Albany, then they ate at Major's Pizza. I remained calm at
home until they returned.
Saturday Pauline made breakfast, then we
all went to the Wellness Center to swim and stopped at McDonald's on the
way back. The rain outside gave Linda an opportunity to get help putting
the Christmas Tree up and getting it decorated. Julie, Pauline and
Stacey helped her.
The
kids watched some Christmas shows on TV while the adults played cards
until bedtime.
Sunday after "sticky buns" for breakfast and rain
still coming down outside, we played a game of Aggravation. We play as
teams with all members having to get their marbles to home. Stacey,
Julie & Brent were on one team with Pauline, Kyle and I on the other.
Julie and Kyle took teasing really well as the "bumping" was happening.
After
the game was over, we had chili, salsa, chips and cheese, then they
packed their things up and went home a little before noon.
