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Posted on Saturday, December 01, 2007
Seeing Mama's Family Mama
Linda took Stacey with her to Pauline and Brent's house to babysit Julie
on Thursday. Friday evening, Pauline, Brent and Stacey went to Glasgow
to the Plaza Theatre. Vicki Lawerance was there doing her "Two Woman
Show". She is a comedian that used to be on the Carrol Burnette Show on
TV. She is still doing comedy and the second part of her show she
dresses in the character of "Momma". Stacey said the show was funny and
that Pauline and Brent liked it too.
Stacey
and Linda returned to the farm early Saturday morning and we went to the
Cumberland County High School basketball games at 2 PM. It was the first
time Stacey had saw Jason since a day after his foot surgery. They
seemed to take up right where they had left off. Jason was walking with
a special type of shoe that protects his foot and I could tell it's
still bothering him a little. He seemed fairly well though and was
having a good time sharing a bag of popcorn with Stacey. Cumberland boys
won a close game against a Fort Knox school and the Cumberland girls
beat the Fort Knox girls team easily.
Posted on Monday, December 03, 2007
Jackson Stays the Day
Sunday evening one of our neighbors called and needed a baby sitter for
Monday. It was Stephanie McClain and she was looking for someone to take
care of her son Jackson. She had talked to Linda about being a backup
sitter a while back, so Linda accepted the job. Monday, a few minutes
after 7 AM, Stephanie dropped off Jackson and went to work. Jackson is
around 2 years old and very well behaved. Linda set up the Brio Train in
the living room floor and I played with him for a while.
We
went outside and rode in the Mule while we let Daisy run around the hay
fields. We didn't stay outside long as the wind was blowing and it was
cold. Back inside, we played with his little cars that were characters
from the Disney movie "Cars" on our coffee table. Later, we took Jackson
and went to McDonald's in Columbia and he ate the McNuggets we bought
for him. After a stop at Wal-Mart to let him look at toys, we returned
to the farm and Linda took Jackson to his mom in Burkesville. His stay
with us was over without any problems.
Posted on Tuesday, December 04, 2007
Tree, Pump and Well Casing Removed
It was warmer today and no wind so I decided to take the tractor back
down to the other hay fields and dig out the tree I had left standing by
the well casing and pump.
I
had talked to Steve Garmon and he said he would bring his cutting
torches and cut off the casing for me. I used the backhoe and dug out
the tree and pushed it to the side, then dug around the well casing and
piled up the dirt on both sides. I scooped out the dirt till I was about
4 feet deep on both sides of the casing. I used the hoe to push the dirt
from the back side of the casing and scooped it out and finished
cleaning out the hole. I drove the tractor back to the hay shed and
drove the pickup to the house. Stacey, Linda and I went to town and ate,
then I stopped at the ATV & Feed Store to see if Steve could go cut the
well casing off. He said he could, so I pulled the truck around back and
we loaded in the acetylene and oxygen tanks. Steve road with us out to
the field, lit the torch and cut the well casing and the pipe inside
apart. It probably took about 5 minutes using the cutting torch. We all
loaded back in the truck and we took Steve back to the shop. I tried to
pay him, but he didn't want any money. He asked if I would dig a small
hole for him next week. I said I would. Stacey, Linda and I went back to
the farm. Linda went to work at the day care. I took the tractor back
down to the hay field and placed a flat rock over the cut off pipe. This
should keep the dirt from falling into the well casing and causing a
sink hole. Then I slowly drug the dirt into the hole with the back hoe
and finally filled it the rest of the way with the scoop.
Posted on Wednesday, December 05, 2007
Cheddars in Cookeville
We ate breakfast and left for Cookeville around 10 AM. I filled the HHR up in town and we went through Celina and Livingston finally arriving in Cookeville. Our first stop was at Kohl's, where we bought several Christmas gifts. Kohl's was having most of their items marked down substantially. We also were able to take advantage of their Senior Citizen's discount of an additional 15%. They also gave a $10 coupon for each $50 we spent. Heck, I told Linda they were practically paying us to take stuff home. I knew that wasn't true, but it seemed like it. We went to a couple more stores, then to Cheddars to eat. We had waited till around 1:30 PM to eat there, because they are always packed at lunch time. We sat in the center of the place where we could watch their giant aquarium while we waited on our orders to be prepared. The food was great and not that expensive. We left and stopped at a couple more stores, then returned to the farm around 7 PM with 2 cheese burbers for the dogs.
Posted on Saturday, December 08, 2007
Chainsaws and Grease
We've started burning our wood stove and have hauled some wood from the wood shed to the back porch during the dry weather. Since it was raining most of the day, I went to the hay shed and worked on the chainsaws. I sharpened the chains, tightened them and then filled them with fuel and started all three chainsaws. I had run out of grease for the sprocket on the ends of the bars, so I decided to fill up the small grease gun for the chainsaws with grease from the air powered grease gun. After getting grease all over me, I had it filled and tried it out. Success, it worked. While I had the air powered grease gun hooked up, I greased the backhoe, front loader and tractor fittings that I could find easily. Linda and Stacey were getting Christmas decorations from the little house and hauling them to the back porch of the house. Then taking them inside and setting them in various places.
Posted on Monday, December 10, 2007
Christmas Outfit On Julie
While Linda was babysitting Julie, she took a picture of Julie in her
Christmas outfit in front of the Christmas Tree at Pauline and Brent's
house.
Posted on Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Big Game
Linda had been asked to work for FRYSC in town, so she left early for that job. Stacey went with me in the Mule across the creek. I had picked out a tree to cut down for firewood and we took the chainsaws along. I drove the Mule up close to the tree and unloaded the saw, then had Stacey back away far enough the tree could not hit her in the Mule. I notched the tree and knocked out the triangle shaped piece, then cut the tree from the opposite side just above the notch. It fell with a giant thud just about where I had wanted it to fall. I was lucky that time. I sawed off several pieces of the trunk and then needed a break. I restarted the saw and cut a few more pieces and then we quit. I drove the Mule back across the creek, to the hay shed and unloaded the saws. It was probably a record temperature for the day as it was nearly 76 degrees on the back porch thermometer when Stacey and I went inside. I took a shower and dressed to go to the ball game later on. We drove to the after school day care and found Linda working with the kids. She had been wrapping Christmas presents from the Angel Tree organization in town. Stacey and I went on and ate and drank a malt at the Tastee Freeze. We went to the school and went inside to watch the basket ball game. Cumberland County was playing Clinton County. I guess it's a big rivalry so the gym was packed on both sides. Jason came in right before the game started and Stacey had saved him a seat next to her. The Cumberland girls had a fairly easy first game and beat Clinton County's girls by about 20 points or more. I walked across the gym at a break in the action and talked to Guy and Tony Boils from Clinton County. They're the contractors that built our home. The boys game was hotly contested the entire game with Clinton taking a 9 point lead in the first half to be trimmed down to 2 points at half time. In the second half, Cumberland's boys fought back and took a lead, then lost it, then took another lead of about 6 points with about 2 minutes to go in the game. Clinton County's coach started taking the players in and out, using one group to foul and another group to try to score, but Cumberland's boys were able to hit enough free throws to win the game by about 8 points. Of course, there were different times during the game when each coach was jumping up and down and hollering at the referees. I guess it isn't a close game if that doesn't happen. With the home team winning both games, most of the crowd went away happy.
Posted on Thursday, December 13, 2007
Lumberjacking
Linda left for Pauline and Brent's house to babysit Julie, so Stacey and I had breakfast and went outside. We loaded the chainsaws in the back of the Mule and headed across the creek with the trailer hooked to the back. Daisy was in the back of the Mule too. We turned Daisy loose and let her run along as we drove to the tree I had cut down. I pulled the trailer as close as I could get to the trunk of the tree. I told Stacey to keep an eye on Daisy while I cut some more pieces off of the tree trunk. After cutting those, I took a break and called Daisy back to the area. She seemed a little bit afraid of the chainsaws even when they weren't running. I loaded the pieces onto the trailer and put Daisy in the back, but she freaked and jumped back out. Daisy would not get in the back with those chainsaws setting in the bed. I had to put the leash on her and put her in the cab between Stacey and me. We rode back to the barn, fed Daisy and put her in her stall. Then we drove to the wood shed and I backed the trailer up to the shed. I started the wood splitter and split one piece of the tree trunk and the splitter quit running. It was like it had locked up. I couldn't pull the cord and turn the motor over. I was HOT!. We left and went to town and ate, then stopped at the ATV shop and talked a while. When we returned to the farm, I went back and tried to start the log splitter again. It started and ran. I shut it off, added some oil, just a dab really and restarted the motor. It ran for at least an hour while I split all the pieces on the trailer and Stacey stacked it. We quit for the day as it was getting dark. We took Missy and went to Sonic for supper.
Posted on Saturday, December 15, 2007
Passing Out Presents
Friday, Linda came home around 9:30 AM. She had Julie with her and said
Pauline and Brent were going to come over on Saturday morning. Hmm, this
was the first time that Julie had stayed all night with us with out
Pauline and Brent being here. The day went fairly well. We took Julie
with us when we went out for lunch and played with her the rest of the
evening. Julie had fun playing in a thing called a "Jumperoo". She ate
and took her bottle, then went to bed and got back up, then back to bed
for the night.
Saturday morning, Julie had Linda and Stacey up early
when I went in and made coffee. We fed Julie and were talking about that
we should have her screaming when P&B showed up, but we didn't know when
they would come. We didn't have long to wait, they walked in right about
8 AM and both of them began playing with Julie immediately. I think they
seemed surprised she was OK. Not really, but it looked like they had
missed her the way they were both playing with Julie at the same time.
Linda and I laughed and joked with them about it. After the initial rush
had subsided, we talked for a little while. Brent and I took a ride
around the farms in the Mule while Linda made hamburgers for lunch.
After we ate lunch and I had sat down for a minute, Linda said we were
all going to the Elementary School to help pass out presents. The 5
adults and Julie loaded in our truck and I drove to the school. There
were several people already there but they seemed glad to see backup
arrive. Miss Margena, Miss Sherry, Miss Priscilla, Mr Rodney, Miss
Lorrie, and Miss Jane had been working to separate the gifts and get
them ready to pass out. The gifts had been bought by a Christian Church
in Louisville for kids that had been selected by the local teachers. The
450 selected kids were ones that the teachers thought their families
would need help at Christmas. Most kids had 3 presents each, all
provided for free by the church and other groups. Family Resource Youth
Services Center (FRYSC) was the school agency that was taking care of
passing out the presents. Stacey sat at the table by the door and passed
out candy canes and a couple other small items as the adults were
required to sign papers stating they had received the gifts. Linda,
Brent, Pauline and I were runners taking presents from the back hallways
to the table. Three times a couple of the FRYSC workers left to deliver
gifts to homes that couldn't pick the items up. We started at noon and
quit around 3:30 PM. I backed my pickup truck to the door and we filled
the bed with presents that hadn't been picked up. I pulled it about 100
yards to the FRYSC Office and we unloaded the packages and set them in
the building. I was carrying a load of packages and missed a step and
fell down, tearing my blue jeans and hurting my pride as well as my
knee. No real damage, just skinned it up. After unloading all the
presents we left for home and fixed home made pizzas for supper while
playing with Julie and enjoying the evening setting around the fire in
the wood stove.
Posted on Monday, December 17, 2007
More Popcorn
I woke Linda and Stacey up early and fixed breakfast before we left for the Elementary School. We walked in a few minutes after 8 AM and began popping popcorn. Henry Holly was there and was helping also. We kept the popper running constantly until we had popped enough to fill about 450 bags. It was about 10:45, so we swept up and turned everything off and left the building. I drove the HHR to Albany and we stopped at McWhorter's Store so Linda could buy some items for embroidering. After that stop we went to a place we hadn't been before. It was a plant nursery that sold hardware and all sorts of odd items. Pedal cars, electric lights and appliances, furniture, and shoes to name a few. We looked through their shop and then went to lunch while we were in Albany. I drove us back to the farm and Linda and Stacey went inside. I went to the wood shed and messed with the log splitter. After a short time, I went back to the house and Linda went to work at the after school day care. Stacey and I went to the hay shed and I jump started the Ford tractor and let it run a little to charge the battery. We picked up Daisy and let her run through the hay fields down at the other place, then brought her back and put her in her stall and gave her food. We went inside and after a little while Linda came back home. She is getting ready to go to the Homemaker's Party tomorrow evening by making a dessert.
Posted on Friday, December 21, 2007
Neighbors Killing Hogs
Last Tuesday Steve Garmon stopped and asked if I could use my tractor to
dig a pit for him at his dad's farm. He had done me a favor by cutting
off a well casing a few days back, so I said I would. I went down and
dug the pit where they needed it. Phil and Steve said they were going to
use it when they killed hogs.
This morning, I went out and put Daisy
in the Mule and was headed down the driveway planning on crossing the
creek and letting her run. I looked up the road to see if any cars were
coming and noticed that they were working out where I had dug the pit. I
headed up there and there were several guys working. I'll just describe
the process in order and put in a few pictures so you can see how it
works. They have a large tub of water over the pit I dug with wood
burning under the tank to get the water boiling. The hogs are kept in a
horse trailer close by and separated one at a time. Someone shoots the
hog in the head, then while it's knocked down another person steps in
and cuts the jugular vein in the hog's neck. It bleeds to death. The hog
is picked up using a hoist on the back of the tractor, then the tractor
is backed to the edge of the scalding tank and the hog lowered into the
hot water. Guys use hoes and sticks to turn the hog over as it is
scalded to aid in the removal of the hair.
A
wire cradle made of fence wire is used to lift the hog out of the pit
and it is laid on wood skids by the side. The guys use very sharp knives
to shave the hair off of the entire hog. This seems to be the most
tedious part of the process. After the hair has been removed, the hog is
hung from the tractor again and one person cuts off the head with a bow
saw and someone else splits it's belly and rib cage and lets the insides
drop into a tub. The smaller boy is keeping a fire going under the
kettle used to render the lard.
After
the hair has been removed and the hog split open the carcass is cut into
the various pieces of meat. Rear legs are hams, pork ribs, tenderloins,
and the scrap pieces are placed in buckets for making pork sausage later
on. The guys are planning on killing 7 hogs. I can remember a little bit
of this process from when I was a kid living with my Grandma and
Grandpa. Grandpa raised pigs and would sell most of them for what was
called feeder pigs, but he always kept a few hogs to butcher, probably a
lot like this was done. Linda and I both worked in meat packing plants
and have seen this process automated to the point of killing 1,500 hogs
and 300 cattle per day, so this wasn't a big deal for me to watch. After
a while, I told them to be careful and not get cut and I took Daisy for
a run down at the other farm.
She
ran a squirrel up a tree and stood and barked at it for 5 minutes. I had
to call her off of it and drive away in the Mule before she would leave
it alone.
Posted on Saturday, December 22, 2007
Welcome To Winter (officially)
Winter arrived last night a little past midnight in the Central Time
Zone. This morning it is 46 degrees and there is a little fog in the
air. The forecast is for the temperature to go up to 60 degrees today.
The average temperatures are 52 degrees for a high and 24 degrees for a
low. Those are still a few days away for us. I'm glad this is the
shortest day of the year and it will begin getting longer in the
Northern Hemisphere. There are only 9 hours and 39 minutes of daylight
today. It will be tough to get all that shopping done during the
daylight hours.
Posted on Tuesday, December 25, 2007
Merry Christmas
Pauline, Brent and Julie (PB&J) arrived early on
Christmas Eve morning. We talked a little while, then loaded in the
pickup truck and headed to town. I stopped and filled up with gas while
Brent bought us a few drinks for the ride to Cookeville. About an hour
later we pulled into Cheddar's parking lot and went inside. We ordered,
ate, paid, and left in a little over an hour. That was a real short time
for such a busy restaurant We went on our
shopping way, stopping at several stores like Kohl's, Peeble's, Hobby
Lobby and Sam's Club. There were other stores too, but you get the idea,
it was almost dark when we loaded back in the truck and started our
return trip to the farm. On the way back we each talked about one of our
favorite Christmas time memory. It was nice to hear each person's story
and the trip back seemed to go quicker. Linda fixed us two home made
pizzas for supper around 7 PM. Everyone went to bed around 10 PM or a
little after.
Christmas morning, we all were up by 7:15 AM.
Julie had a few problems through the night and Pauline slept a little
longer due to being up with her. I sent Stacey into the bedroom to bring
out a wagon load of presents for PB&J. I just happened to be holding
Julie as Stacey started passing out the gifts, so Julie started tearing
the paper off her present first.
As
more presents were passed out, I quickly passed off Julie to Pauline and
I began taking pictures.
Stacey
and Pauline helped Julie open her gifts while we watched and giggled
like we were kids too.
Linda
and I had ordered a Radio Flyer ATW wagon for PB&J and had assembled it
a few days ago. For some reason we all threw the torn Christmas paper
from the packages in the wagon. I guess to keep it in one place for
burning later in the wood stove. After everyone was done opening
presents, Brent laid Julie in the wagon full of paper and gave her a
bottle to drink.
After
the paper had been burnt in the stove, Brent put the dogs in the wagon
and Pauline took their pictures. Everyone went outside with Julie riding
in her new wagon wrapped in blankets and dressed so warmly she slept the
entire time we were outside. We took Daisy across the creek and the
girls pulled Julie across the hay field to where Brent and I were
picking up the debris from the tree I had cut down for fire wood next
year. By the time they had walked back to the spot, we had picked up all
the limbs and put them on the trailer behind the Mule. We dumped those
and everyone rode back to the barn. Linda put Daisy back in the barn
stall and Brent and I put the trailer and Mule up while Pauline and
Stacey took Julie inside. Linda fixed us a nice dinner of a tenderloin
and a turkey breast with several side dishes. PB&J loaded their car and
left for home a few minutes before 6 PM. I think everyone at our house
had a very Merry Christmas, regardless of the gifts we received.
Posted on Friday, December 28, 2007
Dog Wrangling
Stacey, Linda and I dressed and headed to Smith's Grove in the HHR. We stopped in Glasgow and ate lunch, then continued on our way to Pauline and Brent's house. We drove in the driveway and Brent just happened to follow us in at the same time. We went inside and played with the dogs. Pauline was gone to take Julie to her pediatrician's appointment. I helped Brent put together an air hose reel while Linda and Stacey watched TV. Pauline returned about 5 PM and told us Julie was given a shot in each thigh for measles and something else. We played with Julie and talked a while, then loaded the dogs into the HHR and headed back to the farm. We're keeping Pico and Poco until next Thursday while PB&J are in IN visiting.
