April 30th - Back in Missouri

I enjoyed my time in Tennessee. Pretty much accomplished everything I wanted to get done. I arrived back home in Missouri around 9:30 last night.

The dryer in our combination washer/dryer, in the motor home, quit working during our last trip. I haven't had time to look at it yet. (You can't do anything without taking it out of the cabinet and that looks like a pain.) I bought 50' of clothesline and stretched it up between to trees that were about 40' apart. Looks like I should have bought 2 - 50' lengths, I sure had this one full when I washed sheets.

 Sunday afternoon things were still wet, but it wasn't raining. I took a 2 hour walk around part of our property. I crossed two waterways like the one below, only I crossed where they were a little smaller. I came to one that was just to big to wade across without getting water into my boots so I turned back. There is no water at these locations during dry times.

The noise in the video is just from the rushing water.

During my walk I didn't see any mushrooms nor any dogwood trees on our property. Dogwoods were out because there were several behind the neighbors house.

While I was gone the contractor came and installed our new metal roof. Another one came and installed several new doors and windows, and the satellite TV guy came out to re-install the satellite dish that the roofers had removed. A separate contractor came out to install new gutters and downspouts after the roof was finished. Kathy handled everything.

Our DSL modem quit working before I left, after a thunderstorm with lots of lightening. It took Kathy several phone calls but they finally sent her a new modem. It wasn't the only problem. Finally they sent out a service guy and he determined that the phone line back to our house was bad. I got the modem working this morning. I had to uninstall and reinstall our wireless printer to get it to work but now everything seems OK.

Kathy had lots of things to keep her entertained while the contractors were here. As they were leaving the roofing guys knocked out part of a stone retaining wall when the rear of their trailer swung wide as they made the turn to head down the driveway toward the road. They didn't stop. The door/window installation guys did a reasonable job of putting the stones back in place. The satellite TV guy tried backing into one of the levels of the yard and got stuck. The door guys pushed him out. We probably should have given the door guys a big tip.

I had a full truck load for my trip home. I had most of the box filled level full of wood that I cut while in TN. I also had 3 bar stools in the back. The back seat was full of tool boxes. I got everything unloaded today. I split the wood that needed splitting and have most of it stacked under the boiler enclosure. We don't have the boiler running right now but will probably start it back up tomorrow evening. It has been hot enough the past two days that we have had the AC running. I think it got to 84 today.

I got the lawn mowed but didn't do any trimming yet. In the morning I may go to the hardware store in California and buy the new mega weedeater that I have been lusting after.  It takes me longer to do the weed eating that it does to mow, and mowing takes long enough. It isn't that there is so much to mow, its just that there is no place to go straight. You are always turning around something.

I fed the fish this afternoon. Saw lots of catfish but nothing else.

Lydia comes tomorrow. I can't wait to see her.

I hope all of you had as nice a day as I did. May God bless you and yours.

April 27th - Still in Tennessee

I had planned on packing up today and leaving for Missouri tomorrow. It has been raining almost steady since last night. I decided to wait and pack up after the rain ends. That may be tomorrow (Sunday) or maybe not until Monday. I probably won't be back in Missouri until Tuesday.

I've finished the "tasks" I wanted to get done while I was here. My next project will be putting in at least a couple of windows.

This morning I rode to Cookeville with Tom, Mary Lou & Merv. Tom needed to deliver a lawn mower he had sold. Unfortunately LeAnne had to work and we weren't able to see here while we were there. We had a good lunch at an oriental buffet. I did some reading and took a nap this afternoon.

Guess that is all from here. I hope all of you had a good day. May God bless you and yours.

April 21st - Sunday

This morning I stopped at Hardee's and had a couple of Canadian bacon, egg and cheese biscuits (they were on sale), and a cup of coffee on my way to the early service (9AM) at Cumberland Fellowship. I think the “older” crowd must gravitate toward the early service. Most of the people appeared to be in the 50 plus age group. The contemporary music seemed to be the same as it is during the later service and the Spirit seemed equally as active.

The Pastor spoke on integrity, and how it is sorely lacking in today’s society. He noted that today we are much more likely to be shocked when someone shows integrity that we are when someone shows a lack of it. It no longer shocks us when we hear about scoundrels in government and business. We expect that everyone is trying to cheat us. An evening watching TV commercials certainly shows that many businesses will say anything to try and get you to buy their product. An election cycle shows that most politicians will say/do anything to get re-elected, so that they can continue their rape of the American taxpayer.

He suggested that a definition of integrity is being the same person in private that you are in public. He, as usual, turned the message to those in attendance. He commented that if those of us in church practiced integrity, churches would have people lined up outside the door, waiting to get in and join. (I just reread that and it doesn't have the right tone. The Pastor does not make you feel bad as he points out the shortcomings that we all have. He makes you want to become a better person, one who will lead a more satisfying life while here on Earth.) 

 

He went on to ask the question, “What is your integrity worth to you?”. Is it worth the money you might save if you cheat on your taxes? It is worth lying to someone to save yourself from an embarrassing situation? Is it worth the temporary satisfaction you might experience by cheating on your spouse? He listed enough things that at least one of them probably hit home with most of us in attendance. He ended stressing the importance of the peace that is available to those who do walk in integrity.

It is a beautiful day here. I spent that past 2 hours sitting outside enjoying the peace and quiet. It is 2 PM and I came in to warm up some pork and gravy that Kathy sent me. One of the many meals she prepared and froze for me before I left Missouri.

I  hope all of you are also enjoying the beautiful day. May God bless you and yours.

April 19th - Working on "Cabin"

Nothing exciting happening here in TN. We had some high winds, rain and hail, I think Wednesday afternoon. It has drizzled rain on and off all day today, at least every time I was outside.

I went over to Tom & Mary Lou's this morning and picked up the staples for my "hammer tacker". I ordered them online and had them sent to their house. The "hammer tacker" works great for stapling insulation batts in the walls.

I've finished all the wiring except in the kitchen and hanging a couple of closet lights. I've decided to bite the bullet and buy a larger size wire for the range, rather than use the wire that Tom had given me last year. I already put the other wire in place so it shouldn't be to big a job to use it to pull the new wire into place.

I've got about half the wall insulation in place. I can't do the kitchen until I finish the wiring in the exterior walls. In another area last year I put up some peg board to hang tools on. I have to take it down, put up the insulation and then put it back up.

Derrick Burgess, our closest neighbor stopped by after work yesterday and we had a nice visit. His wife saw us out as she was coming home from work and she also stopped for a visit.

This morning I went down to visit with Marvin Burgess. Diane, his wife, told me that Marvin was in town running errands.

I hope all of you had a great day. May God bless you and yours.

April 17th AM - In The Great State of Tennessee

I made it back to TN yesterday. I arrived at our property around 7 PM. I left our place in MO at 8:40 AM. It is a 580 mile drive. I made 3 stops for gas (and pit stops). I picked up a Subway sandwich at one of the gas stops and ate it on the road. I also stopped at the Kroger store in Crossville to pick up a few grocery items. I could make it with only one gas stop but that would mean buying gas in Illinois, which I refuse to do. The gas in Illinois is always 20-30 cents a gallon more than in MO, KY or TN.

It rained until I was midway through Illinois. Going through St. Louis it rained HARD. Kathy said we got another 1.5" Monday night and yesterday. Our pond was overflowing again before I left Tuesday morning. I drove my pickup. I averaged 16.6 mpg. Not great but not all that bad, especially since it was windy, raining and I drove 5 mph over the speed limit most of the time.

Everything here was fine. Tom had already turned on the water for me so all I had to do was hook it back up to the motorhome. I had unhooked it when we left before because I knew the temperatures would be below freezing, at times, before we returned.

Doug left to go back to Indianapolis Monday afternoon. We certainly enjoyed his coming for a visit. He and Anthony are supposed to come out again in June, for Lydia's 1st birthday.

Kathy stayed in MO to babysit Lydia. It is hard to understand why she would want to stay in MO to babysit our wonderful great-granddaughter rather than spend 20 hours riding in my pickup <GRIN>.

This morning I took what I think is the first shower in our building here. The shower/bathroom has been fully function since last August but no one had ever used the shower. The shower is our motor home is quite adequate so the bother to go somewhere else to take a shower isn't worth it unless the other shower is very close and the temperature/weather is good.

After my shower I had biscuits and sausage gravy for breakfast, it was great. Kathy sent me a refrigerator full of leftovers that she had frozen in preparation for my trip.

My tentative plan is to return to MO on Sunday the 28th. I want to be back when the metal roof is put on our home. I hope that by going back on a weekend the westbound traffic backups won't be as bad. Traffic was OK coming here but west of Nashville there were numerous LONG backups at areas of construction. By travelling on the weekend hopefully there won't be long backups since the construction crews won't be working.

Time to get out and about.

I hope all of you have/had a great day. May God bless you and yours.

April 14th - Sunday

Kelsey, Andy & Lydia came to have brunch after church this morning. We had sausage gravy & biscuits and bacon, lettuce & tomato sandwiches. It was a wonderful breakfast.

Today was a beautiful day. We just took it easy. Doug, Kelsey & I played with Lydia in the yard. She seemed to have a great time. In the late afternoon we went in to Jefferson City and had supper at one of the Mexican restaurants. I'm sure Lydia had a good time there.

When Kathy, Doug and I got back to our house we went out to feed the fish. Doug's dogs went nuts while we were walking across the dam. He investigated and found the reason. The big turtle we saw last week was climbing up the back side of the dam. It was on its way to the pond.

I hope all of you had as fine a day as we had. May God bless you and yours.

April 13th - Breakfast at Scribner's Coffee Cup

This morning we met Andy, Kelsey & Lydia at the Coffee Cup in Russellville, for breakfast. The little place is nothing fancy, and it takes forever to get your food but it is by far the best breakfast place within many miles. Actually I don't know of another that is within a reasonable driving distance that matches the deals you get there. This morning I had the #3. 3 eggs, 3 pieces of bacon, a nice size slab of country ham, a sausage patty, hash browns and toast; for $6.49. I forgot to take any photos of us chowing down.

After breakfast Andy and I worked on a back stoop at K&A's. More prep work for finishing the siding on the back of the house. We have it mostly finished, it is usable and far superior to using a concrete block for a step and then making a BIG step to get into the house. Again, forgot to get a photo.

The rest of the gang went to Jefferson City to check out the Habitat Re-Store. They bought a few things. After returning home Kelsey and Doug went to the Amish grocery store while Kathy watched Lydia. Andy and I continued slaving away on the stoop <GRIN>.

We had Ott (Kelsey's in-laws) sausage links, in hot dog buns, and other stuff for lunch at K&A's. They make great sausage.

They came to our house for supper. Doug grilled steaks. We also had salad and baked potatoes. Kathy baked a lemon pie for desert.

As we laid around after supper Doug brought in a toy he had for Lydia. She went ape over it. Lights flash and it plays music as you push the different buttons. She LOVES to push buttons and twist knobs.

I hope you can play the video. It is short but gives you and idea of the toy.

I included a photo of one of our Bradford pear trees a few days ago. I thought the rain would have knocked the blossoms off it but it is even prettier now.

I hope all of you had a great day. May God bless you and yours.

Apr 12th - Habitat Day

Today (Friday) is the day we volunteer at the Habitat Re-Store. Kathy didn't go today because she was babysitting Lydia so that Kelsey could get some rest after her 4-12 hour shifts

Nothing to exciting today. I stopped at Menard's and picked up some treated boards for Kelsey & Andy, for a new back stoop at their home. It was slow today at the Re-Store. I bought a drop-in range for $79, to use in TN. Still haven't bought a refrigerator for TN, they haven't had one cheap enough for me.

Doug came for a visit, from Indianapolis. He plans on being here until early Tuesday morning. We had supper together.

Tomorrow morning we are meeting in Russellville for breakfast and then I think we are going to work on K&A's siding.

Hope you all had a good day. May God bless you and yours.

April 10th - RAIN!!!

Important things first. We got to have Lydia this afternoon. She is such a sweetheart.

Yesterday while we were doing yard work Kathy saw this turtle trying to get through the fence into the poop pond. It finally made it.

Our Bradford Pear trees, both of them, are going to be stunning in a couple of days. This photo doesn't come close to showing how pretty it was yesterday.

It RAINED last night and today. The last time we looked the gauge showed 2.5". The pond is now FULL. It looked like a small whitewater river feeding the pond from the culvert under our driveway.

 

 

When I put in the overflow pipe I thought it was to low. It was not. In this photo the water is within 6" of going over the top of the dam.

 

The 8" discharge pipe is almost full and water is going over the fill I put around the pipe. I think the pipe was totally submerged about a half hour after I took this photo. I won't be shocked if it has washed away by morning.



 This is the water coming out of the culvert under our driveway. This is after the rain had almost stopped. It is only one of the "streams" feeding the pond.

 This is the water coming through the woods and feeding the culvert under the driveway.

Yes, I had to put on my rain coat and boots and go out in the rain to look at things. It was only sprinkling when I took my walk. The radar looks like the rain is over. There is no more rain in the forecast until Monday, which is good.

 

The weather is turning cooler. The low tonight if forecast to be 32 and 31 Friday night (the weather lady on TV just said 29 for Friday night). After that it then warms back up.

 

I hope you all had a great day. May God bless you and yours.



Apr 9th - Nothing Exciting

This morning I started the lawn tractor for the first time this season, after doing some maintenance (greased it, cleaned air filter, added air to tires, etc.; just misc stuff) on it. It started fine. I then mowed the lawn for the first time this year. I didn't do any trimming. My next chore was spraying for bugs. I mixed up a couple of gallons of bug spray and sprayed the perimeter of the house.

After lunch we, mostly Kathy, spent the afternoon cleaning more flower beds. I did move some of the junk wood to a stack at the end of the boiler shack, just to get it out of the way.

The day was cloudy and warm with a high of 77. The cool down starts tomorrow. Tonight's low is supposed to be 64 while tomorrow's high is only 68. A low of 32 is now forecast for Thursday night and 31 for Friday night.

I hope you all had a pleasant day. May God bless you and yours.

Apr 8th - Roofing

First a couple of photos from yesterday. Kelsey and Lydia came over to visit yesterday afternoon.

Lydia adjusting the controls (she loves twisting knobs and pushing buttons)

 Her first dip in the hot tub. She certainly seemed to enjoy it.

 We knew the shingles were in bad shape when we purchased our house last year. Kathy and I both like the look of metal roofs. A contractor from church recommended a roofing company to us. This morning we drove to Versailles, MO, about 35 miles, visited the company, picked out what we wanted and got a ballpark price from them. Their installed price was about what I expected just the material to cost. We told them to go ahead. They are supposed to come out this week to take measurements and firm up the price. At most they have two days labor for a crew to do the work. It will take them a couple of weeks to get the steel and roll it.  They are also going to install gutters and downspouts, front and back, with leaf guards.

We had a nice lunch at a Mom & Pop type restaurant in Versailles. On our way home we stopped off at the Amish grocery store, since we were driving right by it. We didn't buy a lot, but it is interesting to see what they have at the store.

The weather people had forecast rain every day since last Saturday. So far we have received less than a quarter inch. And these bozos want me to believe that they know that man causes global warming, BALONEY!

It was WARM here today. The official high was 78, and it felt that hot. Last nights low was 61and tonights low is supposed to be the same. Thursday nights low is forecast to be 33 so there is some cool weather to be had before summer hits.

I hope you all had a great day. May God bless you and yours.

Apr 7th - Sunday

Another beautiful day here, but almost to warm. Last nights low was 48 and so far today the high has been 75. Late yesterday afternoon I was sitting on the front porch and noticed that the thermometer showed 80. The front porch gets warm as the sun starts going down.

It was supposed to start raining yesterday but so far no rain. Rain is in the forecast everyday until Thursday.

Friday was our volunteer day at the Habitat Re-Store. Kathy didn't go because she was babysitting Lydia so that Kelsey could get some sleep after her 4 straight 12 hour shifts. I went in early so that I could run a couple of errands. I intended on going to both Menards and Tractor Supply before going to "work". My time at Menards was laughable. I'm not exaggerating a bit when I say that it took the guys in the yard over 15 minutes to find some pieces of vinyl siding starter strips. They knew that they had 60 of the 12'-6" long pieces some place but they sure had a hard time finding them. The trip to Tractor Supply had to wait until after "work".

Saturday we worked on Kelsey and Andy's house for about 4 hours. We finished putting out the foam board insulation on the exterior of the kitchen wall. We also installed the starter strips and most of the "J" channel so that we are almost ready to put the vinyl siding back up where the wall was removed when they remodeled the kitchen. For lunch we had pork steaks (3/4" thick and big enough so that there was hardly room for anything else on the dinner plate) that were awesome. Kelsey cooked them on the grill.

Yesterday afternoon I stacked some of the wood I've cut over the past several days. Our wood pile size is on the increase. It is warm enough now so that what I cut the past week, not that much, will be more than enough to last us the rest of the heating season. One problem is that a bunch of what I cut is "junk". I wasn't thinking when I dumped it in a pile. Now I have a pile of junk wood right where I want to be able to start stacking next winters good wood. Not a big deal. I think I can move the junk around to the end of the boiler enclosure and stack it there. For the remainder of the season I don't think we shouldn't need more heat that what we can get from the junk wood.

We had an enjoyable time at church this morning. The people in the Sunday School class we attend are fun and interesting. We had another good "guest Pastor" today. One of his points started with a story about an immigrant coming to America. The man only had enough money for a ticket and some cheese and crackers to eat during the 7 days the trip would take. His "room" was close to the dining room and the smells coming from all the great food about drove him crazy. Finally on his last evening he sought out the Captain. He told the Captain that he would do anything if he could just have one of the meals from the dining room. The Captain looked at him quizzically and told him that the cost of the meals were included in his ticket price. Brother Bickel related this to what we are offered when we accept Christ and live as a Christian. Some (many) of us don't take advantage of the "riches" we are offered. These are not necessarily monetary riches, but what is worth more than the peace of knowing that the Creator of the universe cares for us and has promised peace of mind for those who follow Him.

The NASCAR race is close to over. Time to get out and get a little fresh air.

Hope you all had a great day. May God bless you and yours.

Apr 4th PM - More Outdoor Work

It was another beautiful day here in central Missouri. This morning I did some research and wrote a Letter to the Editor, Jefferson City News-Tribune, about the money being wasted on the Head Start program. Those who read this probably got a copy via email.

Later I ran a tankful of gas through the chainsaw doing more clean-up. I also took several bucketfuls of gravel from a pile behind the shed and used it to cover the pipe I put in for a pond overflow. The "step" you see in the photo below is where I dug out material to start the overflow installation. The water level is about 15" below the bottom of the overflow pipe. The level is within a few inches of being as high as I've ever seen it.

The pond is on the right in the photo below. It doesn't look like it but the ditch to the left of the overflow pipe is 15-18" deep. It is now possible to push a stroller around the pond. I will also be able to drive the mower around the pond. The clear area on the east (road side) of the pond is not wide enough to drive the tractor around it.

My helper is in the photo below.

She rode with me when I went out behind the shed to get a couple of buckets full of gravel.

Later I hauled three bucketfuls up the driveway to patch holes.

Apr 4th - Wood Clean-Up

Yesterday was another nice spring day in Missouri. We worked cleaning up a small area of our woods.

Below is the wood from the clean-up. All of this came from trees that were already down. The larger chunks came from a couple of trees that had been down so long that the bark was completely gone. A lot of it is not that good for heat value (cedar), but it all burns and provides heat. Better to burn it in the wood furnace than in a burn pile.

We will still have plenty to burn when we clean up the the branches and smaller stuff.

Hope all of you have/had a great day. May God bless you and yours.

Apr 2nd - Yard Work

Yesterday we started spring yard work. We raked the leaves out of some flower beds and raked many layers off the "island" by the outbuilding. There was a lot of leaves and trash. The area looks a lot better.

 Today I cleaned off the top of the dam. There was a bunch of dead "bamboo" that had fallen over the top of the dam. There was also a lot of new bamboo that was growing on the top of the dam. I got rid of all of it so that we can easily walk across the dam.

 Below is an "after" photo. It doesn't look a lot different but it sure is. The dam spillway is left of the end of the canoe. I don't think any water has went over the spillway while we have lived here but it was washed out to the point that it was difficult to cross. I put a 8' length of 8" pipe in the bottom of the washout and started backfilling. Unfortunately I can't get my tractor to the spillway unless I cut a path through the woods. I probably could drive it across the top of the dam but things are still a little soft and I don't want to drive it through the yard to get to the dam.

I also did some "scouting" and found some pieces of trees that had fallen. Actually there is a LOT of pieces that are down, I spotted some that looked like they were still in good enough condition to make cutting them up worthwhile. It is supposed to be nice the rest of the week. Hopefully I will get some of it cut up and hauled out of the woods during the next couple of days.

Lydia comes tomorrow and Thursday. I will have to make sure to have time to play with here <grin>. Below is a photo Kathy took on Easter. Lydia had just given me a kiss. First time she ever did it.

Good evening to all. May God bless you and yours.

Apr 1st - Easter Photo's

We had a nice Easter. We attended an early, but not sunrise, service at the small Baptist church we have been attending in Centertown (still not sure that is where we are to make a commitment). The men cooked breakfast for everyone. It was great. I think they had enough for 60-75 people but there were only 40 or so for breakfast. They had eggs (fried and scrambled), biscuits and gravy, sausage patties and pancakes. I tried everything but the pancakes and it was all good. The pancakes looked good but I just didn't have room to try one of them. After breakfast we attended Sunday School and the regular worship service. The Search Committee still has not found a Pastor. We have heard the man, a "guest", who gave the message yesterday several times before. He always has a good message.

Kelsey, Andy & Lydia, as well as Andy's folks (David & Elaine) came for Easter dinner. A good time was had by all. The weather was beautiful. David, Andy, Lydia & I walked around out property a little and then we settled on the front porch with the ladies. During our walk in the woods David pointed out a couple of places that might be places for mushrooms.

We had already seen the grass carp in our pond this spring but yesterday was the first time we saw any of the other fish. I didn't think they would be up near the surface yet.

Lydia's kitchen game (from a couple of days ago).

Our Easter present from Lydia.

 I hope you can make out the foot prints.

She loved Eater egg "hunting", she loves being outside.

Went to the Doctor for a routine appointment this morning and all is fine. Then went to get a haircut at Larry's in downtown Jefferson City. Found out that Larry is closed on Monday's so I put Plan B into effect.

I went to Dudley's, a small "Mom & Pop" type restaurant between us and Jefferson City, for breakfast. They have good breakfasts, but nothing spectacular. After breakfast I drove to California. I wanted to check out weed eaters at the hardware store and I knew that there was barbershop a couple of blocks from the hardware store. Cost me $8 for a haircut and beard trim. I gave the guy a $2 tip and he tried to give it back!

Time for some lunch and then I need to get outside and do something today. It isn't going to be as warm today but it is mostly sunny.

Have a great day. May God bless you and yours.