Norris Family Blog

Stacey & Linda Leave

Linda spent a large part of Tuesday on the phone taking "Happy Birthday" calls. Brent was scheduled for a school conference in Louisville on Wed, Thur & Fri, so Stacey and Linda went to stay with Pauline, Julie and Kyle for a couple nights. They left around 11:30 AM on Wednesday in the HHR. I worked on the ditch between the hayfields with the tractor after they left. I used the scoop to level out the bottom of the ditch and move the rock and dirt. I then dumped the dirt over the top of the cement culvert tiles and along the dirt road that I had built next to the ditch.

It's looking like rain today, so I'm going to work on filing our taxes.

I also noticed that we have the first flower blooming, it's good to see a sign of Spring.

Posted by Dave at 9:00 AM
Categories: Current Events, Farm

Week End Vistors

Pauline, Brent, Julie and Kyle arrived around 5 PM Friday evening. We all went to town to eat supper.
Saturday morning, the sun was out and the weather warmed up quickly. I went and started the tractor while Linda, Julie and Brent went walking in the woods behind the house. I used the tractor to rake the debris out of the hay fields. Before I was finished, Brent drove the Mule across the creek with the black trailer behind and Julie, Stacey and Linda riding along. They picked up the piece that were too small for me to get with the tractor. They piled the small limbs and sticks on the trailer as Stacey drove the Mule through the fields. When we had finished, I let Julie ride with me on the tractor and then Brent and her rode in the scoop when we crossed the creek and pulled to the fire pit. Stacey followed with the Mule and trailer. We tossed most of the pieces into the fire pit and then went to the house for lunch. We had hot dogs for lunch, then Pauline took Kyle and we all went down to the fire pit. Brent lit the fire and we finished tossing the pieces onto the fire until the trailer was clean. We sat around the fire and enjoyed the warm weather and the heat from the fire until it was nearly dark, then we went inside.
Sunday morning was another nice day. We didn't do any work, but were outside most of the day. Pauline waited a little longer than everyone else to take Kyle out. Once it was warm enough, she took him to the pond area. Stacey, Julie, Pauline and Brent took Pico, Poco and Coco for a hike in the woods behind the house. Linda took care of Kyle while she sat on the bench beside the pond. I took pictures.



A little before 5 PM, Pauline and Brent were preparing to leave, Brent was carrying out their bags when Nancy and Steve Riddle came in the front door. They were wanting to see our new grandson, Kyle. Nancy held him for a few minutes and her and Steve talked to Julie, Pauline and Brent. Soon, Nancy and Steve needed to leave to attend their church services and PB&J/K left a few minutes later. Linda took a nap as Stacey and I watched the recording of the NASCAR race.

Posted by Dave at 9:00 PM
Categories: Current Events, Farm

Linda K & Imon Head To IN

Linda N fixed french toast and sausage for breakfast as we drank a few cups of coffee. When breakfast was done, Linda K and Imon began packing for their trip back to IN. After he carried their bags out to the truck, we all went down to the pole barn. I helped Imon hook up the truck to the trailer with the Boss Hoss motorcycle on it. He pulled it out of the pole barn and they were ready to leave. Stacey snapped a couple pictures of us right before everyone hugged and said good bye.

Linda K and Imon left about 8:30 AM CST. Stacey, Linda and I pushed the hay wagon back in the barn, closed the doors and went to the house. Pauline, Brent, Julie & Kyle are coming over later this evening, so we had some things to get ready for their arrival.

Posted by Dave at 9:00 AM
Categories: Current Events, Farm

Imon's Boss Hoss

After breakfast and some talk while the stove was warming the living room, Imon and I went outside. He drove his truck down to the equipment shed and parked it in the gully so the rear of the truck was as low to the ground as possible. I put our ramps on the tailgate of the truck and Imon backed the John Deere mower out of the truck bed. I parked the mower in the shed and we loaded the mower deck on the back of the Mule. I hauled it over to the pole barn where there is a concrete floor and I will put it on the mower later. Imon brought his pickup over to the pole barn and after we unloaded the mower deck, I went and started the tractor. I drove the tractor back to the pole barn and we used the scoop to load the sewing machines into the back of the pickup. I returned the tractor to the shed while Imon moved the machines around in the truck bed. I then drove the Mule back to the pole barn and Stacey, Linda K, and Linda N had joined us. Imon and I finally laid the machine bases down in the bed and took the heads off and put them in the back of the cab. As that job was finished, we moved inside the pole barn and our attention turned to the Boss Hoss motorcycle.

While we were inside and out of the wind, we were able to really take a better look at all the little details of the huge motorcycle.

After everyone examined the bike, we decided it was very well made and the workmanship was all high quality. Everything on it looked like it was made just for the bike and that no shortcuts had been taken. The painting of the flames on the bike are done with the type of paint that changes color depending which way you are looking at it. I'm not sure if you can tell that in the pictures, it is a paint job that needs to been seen up close to get the effect. Linda K and Stacey walked back to the house while we latched the sliding doors and talked a few minutes before going inside too.

We drove our truck to Albany for lunch at Major's Pizza, then took a ride out to Dale Hollow State Park to see what had been going on out there. After the ride as it was getting dark, we stayed inside and played with the Wii until everyone went to bed.

Posted by Dave at 11:00 PM
Categories: Current Events

Around Lunch

Linda had been cleaning the carpet in the bedrooms and we were about to take a break for lunch when the door bell rang and the mail man delivered a package for Stacey. We opened it and there was a jacket I had ordered for her. It was a NASCAR themed wind breaker.

Stacey tried it on and it fit fairly well, so I took a few pictures and Coco had to jump into the last one. We were about ready to leave for lunch with Stacey wearing her new jacket but the phone rang. It was Linda's brother, Imon, saying they were going to stop by in about 2 hours. They had been to TN to buy a motorcycle and were coming by and stay with us. After the conversation, we went to eat and came back to the house. We had to hurry and put the bedrooms back together before Linda went to work at the day care. She left and about an hour later Imon and Linda K arrived. They came in and Imon wanted to show me the bike he had just bought. He wanted to look it over as much as show it to me seeing how he had just purchased it and really hadn't seen it that long. As we drove the Mule down to his truck and trailer, I noticed the bike seemed long and low. When we were closer, I saw it had a Chevy V-8 motor and wasn't a Harley Davidson. It was called a Boss Hoss motorcycle. He started it and it sounded like a small block Chevy with open headers, which is exactly what it was. Awesome! Everything on the bike was heavy duty and it looked factory made. He said that a company was manufacturing those bikes in Dyersburg TN. We went back to the house and a little bit later Linda N returned from work. We decided to park the trailer with the motorcycle in the pole barn and unhook it from the truck to unload the lawn mower Imon had repaired for us. Linda N went with us to do that and check out the motorcycle. It was dark when we finished looking and talking about the bike, so we went inside and spent the evening by the fire in the wood stove catching up on things.

Posted by Dave at 11:00 PM
Categories: Current Events

End Of The Week

Thursday, Linda fixed two pans of brownies to take to the Cumberland River Cruisers meeting. We took Julie, Stacey and the brownies and went to the meeting at 6 PM in the Senior Citizens & Veteran's Building. The club furnished hot dogs, chili and canned drinks to the members and their guests for free. We had a short meeting before the food was served. Members and guests mingled afterwards and I took a group picture. Shortly after I took the picture, we cleaned up and went home.

Friday, the weather was slightly warmer. I put on a couple sweatshirts, gloves and a hat and went to the wood shed. I loaded two loads of wood in the back of the Mule and hauled it to the back porch. When I finished unloading the wood, I took the battery charger/booster to the equipment shed and used it to start the Ford Tractor. Phil Garmon had asked me to dig a hole for a fish pond. They only have a few days left to move their things before the highway relocation crews demolish their old house. I drove the tractor to Betty and Phil's farm and dug the hole in about a half hour. I took a look at the new barn Phil had built to replace one the relocation will take down. When I returned the tractor to the shed, I hooked the float charger to the battery and took the battery booster back to the pole barn. I went to the house and Julie was wanting to take Daisy for a run. I was already dressed for the cold, so Julie and Linda put their coats on and we took Daisy across the creek in the Mule, let her run for a little while, then put her back in the stall and gave her food and water.
Saturday, we were to take Julie home around noon, so I fixed us fried egg with cheese on toast sandwiches for breakfast. As soon as breakfast was over, Linda dressed and then dressed Julie while Stacey and I took showers. We left the farm a little after 11 AM and went the parkway to Smith's Grove. When we arrived, Brent met Julie at the door, grabbed her and threw her up in the air. Pauline was right behind him to take her turn of hugs and kisses from Julie. Linda grabbed Kyle out of his seat and began tormenting him until he woke. Linda finally passed Kyle to me so I could hold him. Pauline was baking apple cobbler and fixed each of us some of it with ice cream. It tasted great still warm with the ice cream. We loaded in the HHR and headed for home at 4 PM after saying good bye.

Posted by Dave at 7:00 PM
Categories: Current Events, Farm

Dual Purpose

Brent went back to work on Monday, so we thought Pauline might need a little bit of a break. We talked to them on Skype and setup a visit to go to Sam's Club and pickup Julie during the trip. We left home about 1 PM and drove the Cumberland Parkway to Smith's Grove, then to their house. Pauline, Julie and Kyle were home and Brent was at work. We played with Julie and Kyle while talking with Pauline. A little later, I held Kyle when Stacey and Julie went into the bedroom to read books. Pauline and Linda swept their living room carpet and then shampooed it with the carpet cleaner. They turned on the ceiling fan to help with the drying time. A few minutes after 3 PM Brent came home from working and played with the kids. Shortly after that we loaded into their Traverse and Brent drove us to Hobby Lobby for some shopping. We stopped and ate at the Bowling Green Mall, that way everyone could get something different that they liked. We went on over to Sam's Club and shopped, loaded the groceries in the back of the Traverse and then back to their house. I checked out some of Brent's pictures and we watched a little of the Olympics.

Soon, it was time to head home, so Linda packed Julie a suitcase while Pauline took Kyle to the bedroom and let him breast feed. When P returned to the living room, Julie gave them hugs and kisses and we piled into the HHR for the ride back to the farm. It was snowing lightly as I drove home and Julie slept the entire way. When I parked the HHR in the garage, Linda carried her inside and put her to bed without waking her. We unloaded our supplies and called it a night.

Posted by Dave at 11:00 PM
Categories: Current Events

Our Blog NASCAR Fantasy League

Jason and Stacey like to pick NASCAR drivers and root for them during the season. This is also an item that they like to argue and tease about when we meet for breakfast or during their phone conversations. This year, several of our family has joined in the 'discussions'. Stacey, Jason, Julie, Brent, Linda and I have all picked two drivers each to be on 'our teams'. Each week we will watch for the results and figure out which one of us won the weekly results and who is leading for the complete year. If you are interested you can see our results at this LINK. You can also click the link at the top of the right hand column below the NASCAR logo.

Posted by Dave at 10:00 AM
Categories: Current Events

Splitting & Cutting Wood

Friday the weather was nice, so Stacey, Linda and I went to the wood shed and I set the splitter next to the pile of wood. I started the engine and began splitting the larger pieces and tossing them onto the black trailer. We used the trailer so the girls wouldn't have to pick up the split pieces off the ground. Stacey and Linda were picking the pieces off the trailer and stacking them in the shed. When they would get caught up, Linda would move to the pile of wood and throw some pieces closer to me for me to split. We worked a while, took a short break and then finished what we could. Some of the bottom pieces were frozen to the ground, so we had to leave maybe 10 - 15 pieces laying there until they thaw and come loose from the dirt. As warm as the weather has been, it shouldn't take but a couple of days.
Earlier today, I went to the equipment shed and worked on the chain saws, putting chain oil and fuel in them and lubricating the chains and bars. I also started all three of them and then placed them in the back of the pickup truck. I drove the Mule over to the pole barn and did a couple of things while I was there. Steve Riddle called and said he was headed out on the ridge to cut wood, so I took the pickup truck and drove out there. I parked near the tree tops that the loggers had drug into the field for us to cut into fire wood. If we don't cut the tops for fire wood, the loggers leave them lay in the woods to rot. I started the little chain saw and started trimming the small limbs. It wasn't five minutes and that saw quit running. Steve came over and started sawing wood with his saw. I switched to the medium saw and continued trimming for a few minutes until I saw that was the same thing Steve was doing. I started the bigger saw and began cutting the larger pieces of the limbs. We took a short break, worked a while, took another break and decided we should load some of the pieces into the truck to clean up our work area and make it easier to walk. We had a few pieces thrown on the truck when Nancy joined our crew and began loading the truck. I said that I had enough on my truck and we could either quit or cut and load some on Nancy and Steve's truck. After a little discussion, we decided to cut up the rest of the pile and load it on their truck. Mark had come out and was watching us work. Steve and I took turns cutting and loading until we had the larger pieces cut while Nancy was loading their truck with the medium sized pieces. Steve and I lifted the last large pieces on the back of the truck and called it a day. I loaded my saws on the back of the truck, said thanks and headed to the house. I parked the truck in the shed and plan to split some of the wood tomorrow inside the shed, rain or shine since the temperatures are supposed to stay in the upper 50s.

Posted by Dave at 10:15 PM
Categories: Current Events, Farm

Better Weather & Home Makers International Dinner

This morning the sun was out and the temperatures were predicted to climb to the mid 40s. It was nice to get outside the house without the freezing temps and wind chill. Coco even liked the break in the weather as I let him go out the front door this morning to look around.

While I was outside, I saw Steve Riddle go up the road in his farm truck. Linda wanted me to go to Bonnie and Henry Holley's house to pick up decorations for the dinner, so I decided to take our truck and also go out to Steve's place on Jone's Ridge. It took me a few minutes to stop by the Holley's to talk and take the decorations Bonnie had, then I drove on to Steve's. He had his tractor running with a roll of hay on the hay fork and his truck backed into the driveway ready for the roll to be set in the bed. We took a short walk around the field to look at the tree tops the loggers had pulled up for Steve to cut into firewood. I'm supposed to cut some for us to burn, maybe on Saturday, if the weather is decent. Steve loaded the roll of hay into the truck and then I headed back to the house. On the way, I pulled into Phil Garmon's driveway and took a look at the pole barn he is having built. Emanuel Hoestetler's crew built our pole barn and is also building Phil's. Phil and Steve Garmon along with two or three others were cutting up another hog and I stopped and talked a few minutes with them before going on home. Linda and Stacey had been baking and fixing food to take to the Home Maker's International Dinner later in the evening and they were still busy with that stuff, so I went down to the wood shed and split some of the wood that had been piled up. I worked a while and then took Daisy for a run, brought her back and then I went inside. Linda and Stacey left for the dinner about 4 PM after I showed Stacey how to work the camera and told them to take lots of pictures. When they came home after the dinner, they had quite a few pictures on the camera and said the dinner was a big success. Linda mentioned that she took most of the pictures because Stacey had left with Hazel, Odis and Jason to watch a ballgame.